"It is impossible that there is not a great Good hidden beneath such disappointment. I believe in God": a test of Marceline Desborde-Valmore's faith
Autograph letter signed.
8to. 2 pp. With autograph address panel.
€ 850.00
Beautiful, comprehensive letter to her close friend Léon Boitel, in which Desbordes-Valmore laments a grave disappointment, probably in connection with her departure from Lyon. Although Desbordes-Valmore reprimands a Monsieur Perlet for leaving without communicating with Boitel, the ultimate cause of her "heartbreak", "terrible bitterness", and "infinite sadness" remains obscure. She announces that she will follow her husband, who "worries too much" about his "beginnings", to his new engagement in Brussels and join him with their daughters after the upcoming conscription of their son Hippolyte. The letter was probably written from Paris, as she expresses her disdain for the city: "I no longer want Paris".
In the second part of the letter, Desbordes-Valmore mentions negotiations with two different publishers over a children's book of hers. In a short postscript she affirms that the disappointment has only strengthened her faith: "It is impossible that there is not a great Good hidden beneath such disappointment. I believe in God" (trans.).
The actor Prosper Valmore (1793-1881) was based in Lyon between 1833 and 1839. There, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore met the graphic artist and publisher Léon Boitel (1806-55), who would remain a close friend until his untimely death. The children's book mentioned in the letter is "Contes en vers pour les enfants", published in 1840 by Léon Boitel himself.
Minor tears and some browning.
