HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Mémoires secrets pour servir à l'histoire de la République des Lettres en France depuis 1762 jusqu'à nos jours'' ("Secret Memoirs Serving as a History of the
Republic of Letters The Republic of Letters (''Respublica literaria'') is the long-distance intellectual community in the late 17th and 18th centuries in Europe and the Americas. It fostered communication among the intellectuals of the Age of Enlightenment, or ''phil ...
in France from 1762 until Our Days") is an anonymous chronicle of events that occurred between 1762 and 1787. Historian Dena Goodman thinks it started as a manuscript newsletter emanating from Paris. It was first published in London as a multi-volume set from 1781 to 1789. Thus, although the entries bear exact dates, they were not published until long after the events they describe. The ''Mémoires secrets'' offer an abundance of details about literary life in the 18th century: "At the center of the most brilliant debates for a quarter of a century, whether concerning the battle against the
Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
, the opposition'' etween the Parlement of Paris and the French King', well-known affairs such as the
affair of the diamond necklace The Affair of the Diamond Necklace (, "Affair of the Queen's Necklace") was an incident from 1784 to 1785 at the court of King Louis XVI of France that involved his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette. The Queen's reputation, already tarnished by gossi ...
, or the emergence of new aesthetics such as the
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
drama, Gluckist opera, Shakespeare's works, they gave an account, almost from day to day, in manners sometimes engaged and sometimes distanced, indignant, or sarcastic, of ephemeral or profound movements of public opinion in the course of constituting itself."Équipe Lire XVIII° Grenoble, ''Les Mémoires secrets dits de Bachaumont: édition et réévaluation'' (in press).


The authors

The work is attributed to
Louis Petit de Bachaumont Louis Petit de Bachaumont () (June 2, 1690 – April 29, 1771) was a French writer, whose historical interest has been connected largely to his alleged role in the gossipy '' Mémoires secrets pour servir à l'histoire de la République des Lett ...
(1690–1771), but it is unlikely that he was the actual author, since all volumes describe events which occurred after his death. It is currently attributed to Mathieu-François Pidansat de Mairobert and Mouffle d’Angerville, but it is likely that the text is the work of multiple authors.


The text

There are eighteen volumes, each of which covers one or two years of events. The text consists of short, anonymous reports, each with an exact date, on political and cultural events. Some volumes have an "Additions" section which contains reports from prior years. Political and social figures, literary figures, actors, artists, musicians, scientists, doctors, and royal mistresses are discussed. Some of the most frequently-mentioned individuals are
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
, Linguet, Necker, the
Duke of Orléans Duke of Orléans (french: Duc d'Orléans) was a French royal title usually granted by the King of France to one of his close relatives (usually a younger brother or son), or otherwise inherited through the male line. First created in 1344 by King ...
, La Harpe,
Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
, Marmontel,
Turgot Turgot may refer to: * Turgot of Durham ( – 1115), Prior of Durham and Bishop of St Andrews * Michel-Étienne Turgot (1690–1751), mayor of Paris * Anne Robert Jacques Turgot (1727–1781), French economist and statesman * Louis Félix Étienn ...
, the
Comte d'Artois Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...
, the duc de Richelieu, and
Cardinal de Rohan Louis René Édouard de Rohan known as Cardinal de Rohan (25 September 1734 – 16 February 1803), ''prince de Rohan-Guéméné'', was a French Bishop of Strasbourg, politician, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and cadet of the Rohan f ...
. In 1830, Ravenel issued a critical edition of the first four volumes and
Paul Lacroix Paul Lacroix (; 27 February 1806 – 16 October 1884) was a French author and journalist. He is known best by his pseudonym P.L. Jacob, bibliophile, or Bibliophile Jacob, suggested by his great interest in libraries and books generally. Biogra ...
made an abridged edition in 1858. An alphabetical index of the authors and people cited in the ''Mémoires secrets'' appeared in Brussels and Paris in 1866: it is entitled ''Table alphabétique des auteurs et personnages cités dans les "Mémoires secrets pour servir à l'histoire de la république des lettres en France" rédigés par Bachaumont'' and is an indispensable tool for locating these within the work. The entire text is available online from the
Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...
. A new printed edition is being prepared.


Notes


Sources

* Note by Tawfik Mekki Berrada in the ''Dictionnaire des Journaux,'' 1600-1789, published by J. Sgard, 1991.


External links


The ''Mémoires secrets'' (in Gallica)

Alphabetical Index of Authors and Persons Cited (in Gallica)

Information on new critical edition, forthcoming
{{DEFAULTSORT:Memoires Secrets 1781 non-fiction books 18th-century French literature 18th-century history books Book series introduced in 1781 French chronicles Works of unknown authorship