Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe
Encyclopedia
Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe - literally "Memoirs from Beyond the Grave" - is an autobiography in 42 volumes by François-René de Chateaubriand
François-René de Chateaubriand
François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian. He is considered the founder of Romanticism in French literature.-Early life and exile:...

, published posthumously in 1848. This autobiography is considered one of the most important in Western culture.

Although the work shares characteristics with earlier French "memoirs" (like the Memoirs of Saint-Simon
Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon
Louis de Rouvroy commonly known as Saint-Simon was a French soldier, diplomatist and writer of memoirs, was born in Paris...

), the Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe are also inspired by the Confessions
Confessions (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)
Confessions is an autobiographical book by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In modern times, it is often published with the title The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau in order to distinguish it from St. Augustine of Hippo's Confessions...

 of Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...

; in addition to providing a record of political and historical events, Chateaubriand includes details of his private life and his personal aspirations.

The work abounds in instances of the poetic prose at which Chateaubriand excelled. On the other hand, the melancholy of the autobiography helped establish Chateaubriand as the idol of the young French Romantics; a young Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....

 wrote: "I will be Chateaubriand or nothing."

Genesis of the work


Chateaubriand made the decision to write his memoirs in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 at the close of 1803; nevertheless, he did not begin writing them until 1809, and even then found his progress slowed by numerous other projects. In 1817 he returned to the memoirs; the first manuscript, probably written while he was serving as ambassador to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, did not reach completion until 1826. At this point, he intended to entitle the book Memories of My Life.

In 1830, however, Chateaubriand decided to change the scope of the work, revising the title to Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe, making a thorough revision of the original text, and writing several new volumes. He divided his life before 1830 into three periods: soldier and traveler, novelist, and statesman. The project had by now become more ambitious; indeed, he tried to reproduce not only his personal exploits, but the epic historical and political events of the era.

After fragmented public readings of his work in salon
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...

s, in 1836 Chateaubriand yielded the rights to his work to a society that published it until his death, paying him accordingly. Having obtained this economic stability, he completed the work with a fourth set of volumes. In 1841 he wrote an ample conclusion.

Chateaubriand had originally intended to have the work published at least fifty years after his death, but his financial troubles forced him, in his words, "to mortgage his tomb."

External links

Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe, English translation by A. S. Kline
A. S. Kline
A. S. Kline, known as Tony Kline is a British poet and translator, living in England.He graduated with a degree in Mathematics from the University of Manchester, and was Chief Information Officer of a large UK Company before dedicating himself to his literary work and interests...

 Complete work Chateaubriand's memoirs
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