Henri Benjamin Constant de Rebecque, Cahier Rouge [Red Book]

Ian Morrison (Independent Scholar - Europe)

Ed. by Jennifer Yee, University of Oxford
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.05: French Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth-Century , 1800-1900.
Vol. editors: David Elwyn Evans (University of St Andrews), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Elisabeth Gerwin (University of Lethbridge), Nigel Harkness (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield), Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1907

Places

France (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Non-Fiction
- Autobiography (literary)

Resources

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Ma Vie

[My Life], as Benjamin Constant entitled his manuscript, is an autobiographical text spanning 1767-1787. It was first published in 1907 by Charlotte de Constant, who gave it the now current title

Le Cahier rouge

[The Red Notebook]. References in the text indicate that it was written essentially in 1811 (Roulin: 94, 108). Clearly it is the mature Constant who narrates and quite often comments on the young Benjamin’s story. Though loosely constructed, the narrative covers four recognizable phases: childhood (1767-1779); student life (1779-1785); stays in Paris, Brussels and Switzerland, when Benjamin met several women who mattered in his life (1785-1787); and a return visit to Britain (1787). Benjamin’s childhood was largely entrusted to governors, for his mother had died days…

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1553 words

Citation: Morrison, Ian. "Cahier Rouge". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 April 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6201, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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