Juliette Adam by Rosemary Lloyd, and Olga Amarie (review)

Abstract

144Women in French Studies Ia prolifération du discours scientifique sur le corps de la femme perpétue un ordre moral traditionnel et familialiste. La pernicieuse infiltration n'épargne malheureusement ni les livres de vulgarisation scientifique, ni les traités de psychosociologie, et encore moins la littérature elle-même : c'est alors le triste avènement de l'ordre moral du « sens commun savant » (167). A leur corps défendant : Les femmes à l 'épreuve du nouvel ordre moral est un livre grave qui sollicite de la part des lecteurs et des lectrices de l'écriture contemporaine des femmes une lecture en profondeur visant à tirer toutes les conclusions qui s'imposent, même les plus dangereuses pour la condition des femmes aujourd'hui. Mais c'est également un texte revigorant, plein d'humour et de saine analyse. A lire et à relire, très certainement. Frédérique ChevillotUniversity of Denver Lloyd, Rosemary, and Olga Amarie. Juliette Adam. Bloomington: The Lilly Library, Indiana U Libraries, 2007. Pp 62. ISBN 0-9777529-2-5. An interesting summary of Juliette Adam's letters, writings, and notes dating from 1880-1920, this work recounts Adam's personal reactions to her life and times. The papers themselves are housed in the closed-stack Lilly Library at Indiana University, having been acquired in 1986. From 1879 to 1899, Adam served as editor to the periodical La Nouvelle Revue which published the works of authors such as Paul Bourget, Paul Valéry, Anatole France, Jules Vallès, and Pierre Loti. She traveled extensively to Greece, Hungary, and Russia. She was actively involved in politics and was, according to Lloyd and Amarie, "an ardent supporter of women's rights" (5). Her support of the revanchard movement, defense of Alsace-Lorraine, and writings on Hungary led to her label as a "champion ofnational sovereignty" (7). The letters that are the subject of Lloyd and Amarie's summary are organized into four series that could be likened to file cabinet drawers with each series (or drawer) separated into folders containing anywhere from one to thirty letters apiece. The series are labeled thusly: Correspondence, Subjects, Writings by Juliette Adam, and Pictures. The Correspondence series houses ten folders, the Subjects series houses six, the Writings series has five, and the Pictures series has only one folder containing two portraits ofJuliette Adam. When read as a whole, the text offers a look into the tumultuous time period in which Adam lived. We see not only her own personal interests and political inclinations, but also how the world around her was changing and being redefined. We read of business deals and dinner parties, politics and death. The scope is varied, but several key subjects are highlighted. These include: Hungary, the Franco-Russian Literary and Artistic Association, and Adams's work at La Nouvelle Revue. According to Lloyd and Amarie, one of "the most interesting files is the one connected with the Sagallo affair" (2). The letters that Adam wrote in response to this affair that resulted in the killing of seven Book Reviews145 Cossacks in French Somaliland illustrate her very strong interest in Russia and her willingness to tackle controversial issues. They also demonstrate "a degree ofpolitical naivety" (2) in a woman who fearlessly wrote to the French Minister of War to request that the French support the Cossacks in their efforts in Africa. This compendium that Lloyd and Amarie have compiled would be useful to anyone doing extensive and in-depth research on Adam and/or her influential salon, the French relationship with Russia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Pierre Loti, the revanchard movement, or La Nouvelle Revue. As a first glance into Adam's letters, this text serves as both an introduction and a sort of CliffsNotes of the actual letters and would allow a researcher to focus his/her efforts on the exact letters needed for a particular project. This text would also help shed light on and explain the circumstances surrounding the writing of these letters. The only criticism to posit here is that the title of the text might mislead a reader to think that s/he is about to read a biography instead ofa summary of letters. Jennifer...