Journal particulier

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Presentation

The Journal particulier of Paul Léautaud, which is a separated branch of his famous literary diary, reached us thanks to his mistress, Marie Dormoy. As she is in charge of typing the huge Diary, she decided to take some pages off and to separate them, since they are pages too explicitly sexual about her. Those pages form the Journal particulier, from which Mercure de France already published the years 1933, 1935 and 1936.

In 1937, on the spur of the moment, Léautaud withdraws the universal legatee status of his mistress. However he regains its wits very fast, aware that Marie Dormoy is the best person to protect the man and the author he is, as well as his works, wisely and with infinite accuracy.

These pages show their relationship is slowly going away: some crude notes fuel them, often balanced by jealousy that corrodes them…

Paul Léautaud started working at the Mercure de France in 1895. He was the Editor in Chief from 1908 to 1940. The first volume of Journal was published in 1954, which was followed by eighteen volumes. The Mercure de France published the entirety of Léautaud’s works. Paul Léautaud is translated in German, Deutch, Castilian and Catalan languages.