''My Brother Yves'' (french: Mon Frère Yves,

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

) is a semi-autobiographical novel by French author

Pierre Loti Pierre Loti (; pseudonym of Louis Marie-Julien Viaud ; 14 January 1850 – 10 June 1923) was a French naval officer and novelist, known for his exotic novels and short stories.This article is derived largely from the ''Encyclopædia Britannica El ...

. It describes the friendship between French naval officer Pierre Loti and a hard drinking Breton sailor Yves Kermadec during the 1870s and 80s. It was probably Loti's best-known book, and its descriptions of Breton seafaring life, on board ship and on shore, set the tone for his later acclaimed work ''

An Iceland Fisherman ''An Iceland Fisherman'' (french: Pêcheur d'Islande, 1886) is a novel by French author Pierre Loti. It depicts the romantic but inevitably sad life of Breton fishermen who sail each summer season to the stormy Iceland cod grounds. Literary critic ...

'' (1886). The fictional Yves was, in reality, Loti's friend, the Breton sailor Pierre le Cor, whom he had sailed with on a number of voyages. A functional illiterate, le Cor was, however, tall, fair and handsome; everything Loti wanted to be.Lesley Blanch (1983). Chapter 8. Like Yves, le Cor was a heavy drinker, while Loti hardly drank at all. The two often spent time ashore either gambling, brawling, scheming childish pranks, or roaming the countryside of Brittany where le Cor introduced Loti to the lore of the Breton culture. In Brittany, Loti met le Cor's mother, and swore to watch over her son forever, although le Cor's hard drinking often tested the bonds of their friendship. Although the novel has raised some questions about whether Loti might have been describing a homosexual relationship,See for example the entry for "Pierre Loti" in the glbtq encyclopedia it is clear from the book that Yves (and, thus, Pierre le Cor) was first and foremost a companion and friend. The relationship between Loti and Yves Kermadec also plays a role in ''Fleurs d'ennui'' (1882), and '' Madame Chrysanthème'' (1887).

Footnotes

References

*''My Brother Yves'', trans. John LeVay (2004), (paper), (e-book)
''My Brother Yves''
trans. Mary P. Fletcher 1887. From

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. *

Lesley Blanch Lesley Blanch, MBE, FRSL (6 June 1904, London – 7 May 2007, Garavan near Menton, France) was a British writer, historian and traveller. She is best known for '' The Wilder Shores of Love'', about Isabel Burton (who married the Arabist and ex ...

(UK:1982, US:1983). ''Pierre Loti: Portrait of an Escapist''. US: / UK: - paperback re-print as ''Pierre Loti: Travels with the Legendary Romantic'' (2004) 1883 French novels Novels by Pierre Loti French autobiographical novels {{1880s-novel-stub