Opinions sur le roman by René Boylesve
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"Opinions sur le roman" by René Boylesve is a collection of literary essays and criticism written in the early 20th century. The volume gathers Boylesve’s reflections on the nature and purpose of the novel, arguing for a disciplined, truth-seeking roman de mœurs in the Balzac–Flaubert lineage and against confusing art with politics, morality, or mere sensation. The opening of the collection presents an editor’s preface explaining its posthumous, documentary character, followed by
Boylesve’s early notes and articles. He contends that authentic art springs from rooted provincial life rather than Parisian cacophony; denounces the era’s “confusion” of genres; and champions the novel as an aesthetic craft whose first duty is truthful observation of character and society. He resists overt moralizing and utilitarian aims, urges respect for form and tradition, and laments the state of criticism while proposing that critics “situate” books and clarify their aims. Further pieces scrutinize the fashionable cult of “Nature,” prefer the depth of reading to the sociability of theater, explain his own motives (to fix moeurs, not to edify or manipulate emotion), weigh what can be written for young girls without falsifying life, and define his short fiction as modern “Comédie” where “nothing happens” except revealing traits and manners; the section closes with a fragment defending Molière against contemporary indifference. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Boylesve, René, 1867-1926 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 30008920 |
| Title | Opinions sur le roman |
| Original Publication | Paris: Plon, 1929. |
| Credits | Laurent Vogel and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Polona digital library) |
| Language | French |
| LoC Class | PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese |
| Subject | French literature -- History and criticism |
| Subject | French fiction -- History and criticism |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77899 |
| Release Date | Feb 9, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 198 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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