Œuvres complètes, II: Œuvres diverses et lettres 1864/1865–1870 by Arthur Rimbaud, Steve Murphy

Abstract

MLR, 104.3, 2009 873 principal claim to scholarly interest,on the other hand, is the inclusion ofvariants to the text of 'Le roman', the theoretical essay which Maupassant published alongside his novel, but whose prefatory status he always refuted. Themanuscript of this essay has previously eluded scholars, but the numerous small divergences between itand the published version are now made available to the curious researcher by editor Antonia Fonyi. (Only a selection of significant variants is given for the novel itself, exhaustive listshaving been compiled elsewhere.) Fonyi's introduction, meanwhile, is stimulating and elegantly written, acquainting the reader with the lineaments of critical opinion on the novel with laudable economy. Fonyi makes some interesting critical observations of her own, though her assertion thatVouloir etre' and Vouloir avoir' are, ifnot incompatible, then at least antagonistic forceswithin thenovel, with differentcharacters being driven by one or the other (pp. 14-15), seems to preclude the rathermore Maupassantian notion that in Third Republic France etre and avoir are somutually implicated as tobe synonymous. Yet Fonyi's successful combining of psychoanalytically informed close reading with literary-historical contextualization works well to situate and illuminate thispolished and poignant novel. St John's College, Cambridge Andrew J.Counter CEuvres completes, :CEuvres diverses et lettres1864/1865-1870. By Arthur Rim baud. Ed. by Steve Murphy and others. Paris: Champion. 2007. 608 pp. 90. ISBN 978-2-7453-1688-2. In this elegantly presented volume SteveMurphy and his collaborators deal meticu louslywith early and largely neglected works by Rimbaud?'Le carnet de dix ans', Latin compositions and translations,Charles d'Orleans ? Louis , 'Un coeur sous une soutane', and various documents and items of correspondence. Not only do Murphy and his team dissect and annotate all these texts in themost punctilious manner, they also justify the entire exercise as more than an admirable work of scholarship. They frequently draw attention to features of these early textswhich prefigure characteristics of themore famous verse and prose poetry. Thus, while one might initially feel that this volume must necessarily be targeted at the Rimbaud specialist, it can also provide pointers for anyone beginning tomake his or her way through the canon. The authors underline that theirmission is to 'redefinir les contours de l'oeuvre rimbaldienne' and that in this context it ispossible to appreciate the underrated significance of these earlyworks. In his assessment of 'Le carnet de dix ans' Bruno Claisse analyses this 'texte troue' (p. 16) as an illustration of schoolboy exercises in France in the nineteenth century. In his 'notes philologiques' Claisse sets the very high standard for the rest of the volume?the greatest attention to detail goes hand in hand with themost scholarly interpretation ofwords, styles, and punctuation. In particular, Rimbaud's use of Latin is placed under themicroscope. George Hugo Tucker examines the compositions de Rimbaud latiniste' and productively explores Rimbaud's interest inGreek and Roman culture in the process. Like other contributors, Tucker points 874 Reviews out that Rimbaud often makes errors in his translations but, crucially, stresses that ces pretendus exercices "scolaires" font partie integrante de l'oeuvre poetique de Rimbaud' (p. 209). Danielle Bandelier and Denis Hue concern themselves with 'Charles d'Orleans ? Louis ,emphasizing that this early textrepresents an example of Rimbaud's political satire and also reveals the influential role of Villon while acting as an antecedent to 'Bai des pendus'. The final contribution comes from Steve Murphy himself in the form of a study of TJn cceur sous une soutane' and items of correspondence. Characteristically, Murphy dissects TJn coeur sous une soutane' in all itsminutiae such as capital letters, italics, and pointilUs. He does this to equal effect with the lettersand documents under review from 1870. In summary, thevolume not only represents a key component in theChampion series byMurphy on Rimbaud but also validates these early works as an integral part of the canon. University of Ulster Gerald Macklin Jean Cocteau. By James S.Williams. (Critical Lives) London: Reaktion. 2008. 253 pp. ?10.95. ISBN 978-1-86189-354-3. Following relatively shortly after his not dissimilarly entitled Jean Cocteau in the French Film Directors series (Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 2006), James S.Williams's new biography of...