GUÉRIN Eugénie de Reliquiae. Publié par Jules Barbey d’Aurevilly et G.-S. Trébutien.

Carteret, I, 367; Clouzot, 139; Vicaire III, 1145.

Posthumous first edition, copy printed on heavy laid paper.

Published in 50 copies, and not sold, this moving collection consists of letters written by Eugénie de Guérin to her brother Maurice de Guérin during the latter’s illness.

The second part of the work is the Journal that Eugénie wrote after her brother’s death in 1839, and which she dedicated to him.: “Encore à lui, à Maurice mort, à Maurice au ciel. Il était la gloire et la joie de mon cÅ“ur. Oh ! Que c’est un doux nom et plein de dilection que le nom de frère ! Vendredi 19 juillet, à 11 heures 1/2, date éternelle“.

The eldest sister of the poet Maurice de Guérin devoted herself to collecting and promoting her brother’s work, for which she felt an exceptional love.

Deeply religious, her mysticism mirrored that of Barbey d’Aurevilly, whom she met during his brief stay in Paris. In fact, she only left her native province to attend her brother’s wedding. She stayed in the capital for nearly 6 months, during which time she met many writers.

She is best known for her Diary, which covers the years 1834-1842, and her Letters, published in 1855 by Barbey d’Aurevilly.

Her Letters to Louise de Bayne, whom Maurice was courting, and her Letters to her brother highlight her talent for combining love of the divine with sisterly love.

This edition, published by Barbey d’Aurevilly and G.-S. Trébutien, was printed on 3 different papers: ordinary (laid), heavy laid and vellum.

Autograph letter

Unique copy, enriched with an autograph letter of 3 pp., signed, by Barbey d’Aurevilly to Sainte-Beuve, sent from La Bastide d’Armagnac (dept. of Landes). Undated, it is known however that it was written on 18 January 1856.

Barbey d’Aurevilly would like the critic to write a few words about the book in the Athenaeum, to which he had been a contributor since 28 July 1855 : “Si vous n’étiez pas probablement archiblasé sur les succès de toute nature que vous devez à votre charmant et admirable talent, vous ne manqueriez pas d’être sensible à l’épilogue que Mlle de Guérin fait de ce talent qui lui était allé au cÅ“ur, en passant par l’esprit… Si favorisé qu’on soit de la renommée, l’opinion d’une telle femme peut encore fleurir un amour-propre délicat et peut-être ne mettrez-vous pas sans émotion à votre boutonnière cette fleur d’héliotrope, cueillie pour vous, sur la terrasse du Cayla?”.

Barbey hoped to read the lines that Sainte-Beuve had ‘almost assured’ him he would give, and he asked that the special issue of the journal ‘in which you spoke of our dear dead’ be sent to him. The Correspondance de Sainte-Beuve (edited by Bonnerot, vol. X, 2396 A) mentions the existence of this letter and adds:”qu’elle n’a pas été retrouvée mais qu’on connaît un fragment cité dans une lettre de Barbey à Trébutien du 19 janvier 1856″. SSainte-Beuve was not insensitive to the talent of the Guérins. It was he who was chosen by Trébutien to edit a biographical and literary study of the works of Maurice Guérin, also entitled Reliquae and published in 1861.

So it seems that Eugénie paved the way for the publication of her brother’s works. While he enjoyed a special relationship with Jules Barbey d’Aurevilly, having attended the Lycée Stanislas in Paris with him, his sister was not to be outdone. She was not only praised in literary circles for her kindness, but also for her elegant and remarkable writing.

Even before her Journal was published, it was the subject of readings orchestrated by her brother, Maurice. Audiences, including Barbey d’Aurevilly and his close friends, were won over by Eugénie’s prose.

Barbey made it the subject of one of his Memorandum in 1838:”Guérin m’a conduit dans sa chambre où il m’a lu divers feuillets du journal de sa sÅ“ur. — quelle diction charmante et pleine de traits tellement rêveurs qu’ils semblent profonds . Quelle distinction d’esprit ! Quelle noble fille .Et que cet esprit est bien femme ! Et que cette âme est bien sÅ“ur ! […] talent qui ne se doute pas de lui-même, naturel, chef-d’Å“uvre de perfection”  (p.280-281)

Eugénie’s works were published before those of her brother (apart from the prose poems published posthumously by George Sand in the Revue des Deux monde in 1840). She seems to have worked hard during her lifetime to gain recognition for her brother, and in so doing, without having expected it, gained the recognition of the literati of the 19^th century, as well as those of the 20^th.

Provenance: from the library of Bernard Malle with his discreet stamp.