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La nipote di Flaubert
Nell’agosto del 1930, in un glorioso albergo di Aix-les-Bains, Willa Cather stringe amicizia con una vecchia signora francese dal nobile aspetto, imperiosa e autorevole. È un’estate torrida, ma la vecchia signora sembra non curarsene: resistere e portare caparbiamente a compimento le cose sembra la sua ragione di vita. Con stupore, nel corso di conversazioni venate di un’impagabile politesse, la Cather scopre che la sconosciuta ha frequentato Turgenev – e che questo non è il suo solo segreto: «Anche mio zio era un uomo di lettere, Gustave Flaubert, forse ne avrete sentito parlare...». In virtù della magica rivelazione, il racconto di un «incontro casuale» si tramuta in un affabile e insieme appassionato discorso sulla letteratura, dove opere e personaggi hanno il peso di eventi fatali – e l’Educazione sentimentale, ad esempio, è qualcosa «che “ci resta”, allo stesso modo in cui dopo certe malattie ci resta una debolezza di cuore. È questa impressionante intelligenza della letteratura a rendere così ammalianti i «bozzetti» che la Cather – convinta che i libri e gli autori a lei più cari avessero smesso di parlare alle generazioni più giovani – radunò nel 1936, sconsigliandoli polemicamente a chi avesse meno di quarant’anni. Ma nel trasmetterci, da retrograda quale si de$nisce, ciò che più le preme, Willa Cather delinea un’audace visione letteraria, quella del «romanzo dé meublé»: che di fatto smentisce la sua certezza di parlare solo ai «tradizionalisti»: un invito a lasciare libera la scena, nuda come in un teatro greco, al dramma delle emozioni.
136 pages, Paperback
First published November 23, 1936
15 people are currently reading
348 people want to read
About the author
Willa Cather
864 books2,738 followersWilella Sibert Cather was born in Back Creek Valley (Gore), Virginia, in December 7, 1873.
She grew up in Virginia and Nebraska. She then attended the University of Nebraska, initially planning to become a physician, but after writing an article for the Nebraska State Journal, she became a regular contributor to this journal. Because of this, she changed her major and graduated with a bachelor's degree in English.
After graduation in 1894, she worked in Pittsburgh as writer for various publications and as a school teacher for approximately 13 years, thereafter moving to New York City for the remainder of her life.
Her novels on frontier life brought her to national recognition. In 1923 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, 'One of Ours' (1922), set during World War I. She travelled widely and often spent summers in New Brunswick, Canada. In later life, she experienced much negative criticism for her conservative politics and became reclusive, burning some of her letters and personal papers, including her last manuscript.
She was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1943. In 1944, Cather received the gold medal for fiction from the National Institute of Arts and Letters, an award given once a decade for an author's total accomplishments.
She died of a cerebral haemorrhage at the age of 73 in New York City.
She grew up in Virginia and Nebraska. She then attended the University of Nebraska, initially planning to become a physician, but after writing an article for the Nebraska State Journal, she became a regular contributor to this journal. Because of this, she changed her major and graduated with a bachelor's degree in English.
After graduation in 1894, she worked in Pittsburgh as writer for various publications and as a school teacher for approximately 13 years, thereafter moving to New York City for the remainder of her life.
Her novels on frontier life brought her to national recognition. In 1923 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, 'One of Ours' (1922), set during World War I. She travelled widely and often spent summers in New Brunswick, Canada. In later life, she experienced much negative criticism for her conservative politics and became reclusive, burning some of her letters and personal papers, including her last manuscript.
She was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1943. In 1944, Cather received the gold medal for fiction from the National Institute of Arts and Letters, an award given once a decade for an author's total accomplishments.
She died of a cerebral haemorrhage at the age of 73 in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
February 16, 2023
Willa Cather è certamente una scrittrice di prim'ordine e "La nipote di Flaubert" è un libro veramente bello. L'opera contiene alcuni 'bozzetti' letterari. Qui mi soffermo sul testo che dà il titolo alla raccolta.
Si era nel 1930. "Accadde a Aix-les- Bains, uno dei luoghi più deliziosi del mondo".
L'autrice ricorda l'incontro, in un glorioso albergo, con una vecchia signora, "da far pensare a un busto di matrona romana"; una gran dama; "a nessuno poteva sfuggire la sua distinzione e la sua autorità".
Emerse ad un certo punto che Turgenev era stato un amico di famiglia, e aggiunse: "anche mio zio era un uomo di lettere, Gustave Flaubert, forse ne avete sentito parlare ..." .
E' l'occasione per discorrere di letteratura per queste due donne coltissime che non solo la conoscono ma la 'vivono' profondamente.
Com'è affascinante quel modo di parlarne così amabilmente senza affettazione o intellettualismi!
A cominciare da "L'educazione sentimentale" , "qualcosa che 'ci resta', allo stesso modo in cui dopo certe malattie ci resta una debolezza di cuore".
Tra i personaggi del celebre romanzo, "ogni volta che la vecchia signora nominava Madame Arnoux mostrava qualche segno d'affetto" ; "fu come fosse entrata nella stanza. Madame Arnoux era lì con noi" .
Si era nel 1930. "Accadde a Aix-les- Bains, uno dei luoghi più deliziosi del mondo".
L'autrice ricorda l'incontro, in un glorioso albergo, con una vecchia signora, "da far pensare a un busto di matrona romana"; una gran dama; "a nessuno poteva sfuggire la sua distinzione e la sua autorità".
Emerse ad un certo punto che Turgenev era stato un amico di famiglia, e aggiunse: "anche mio zio era un uomo di lettere, Gustave Flaubert, forse ne avete sentito parlare ..." .
E' l'occasione per discorrere di letteratura per queste due donne coltissime che non solo la conoscono ma la 'vivono' profondamente.
Com'è affascinante quel modo di parlarne così amabilmente senza affettazione o intellettualismi!
A cominciare da "L'educazione sentimentale" , "qualcosa che 'ci resta', allo stesso modo in cui dopo certe malattie ci resta una debolezza di cuore".
Tra i personaggi del celebre romanzo, "ogni volta che la vecchia signora nominava Madame Arnoux mostrava qualche segno d'affetto" ; "fu come fosse entrata nella stanza. Madame Arnoux era lì con noi" .
April 26, 2016
Not Under Forty is the last book published in Cather's lifetime (1873-1947). It is a collection of six essays that critique various writers and the craft of writing in general.
Avid readers of Cather are aware that she wrote almost entirely from a male perspective, and her opinions and criticisms of her fellow writers tended to favor male writers over female writers. But there are at least two exceptions to this, and they are the subjects of two of these essays.
Miss Jewett focuses on Sarah Orne Jewett (The Country of the Pointed Firs). Cather believed that Miss Jewett possessed a "quality of perception" and an "experience of life" that created a unique style. "A sense for the finest kind of truthful rendering" that most modern day novelists are lacking. Cather and Jewett shared a personal friendship that lasted until Jewett's death.
The last essay in the collection is titled Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923). Cather had tremendous respect for Mansfields writing. "She communicates vastly more than she writes. One goes back and runs through the pages to find the text which made one know certain things...and the text is not there--but something was there, all the same--is there. It's an overtone, "that makes one know this writer (Mansfield) had something of the gift which is one of the rarest things in writing, and quite the most precious". Mansfield died at age 34 and Cather believed, rightly so, that she was just coming into her own and would have contributed much more, and much better, to the world of literature and to a legacy that was uniquely her own.
Avid readers of Cather are aware that she wrote almost entirely from a male perspective, and her opinions and criticisms of her fellow writers tended to favor male writers over female writers. But there are at least two exceptions to this, and they are the subjects of two of these essays.
Miss Jewett focuses on Sarah Orne Jewett (The Country of the Pointed Firs). Cather believed that Miss Jewett possessed a "quality of perception" and an "experience of life" that created a unique style. "A sense for the finest kind of truthful rendering" that most modern day novelists are lacking. Cather and Jewett shared a personal friendship that lasted until Jewett's death.
The last essay in the collection is titled Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923). Cather had tremendous respect for Mansfields writing. "She communicates vastly more than she writes. One goes back and runs through the pages to find the text which made one know certain things...and the text is not there--but something was there, all the same--is there. It's an overtone, "that makes one know this writer (Mansfield) had something of the gift which is one of the rarest things in writing, and quite the most precious". Mansfield died at age 34 and Cather believed, rightly so, that she was just coming into her own and would have contributed much more, and much better, to the world of literature and to a legacy that was uniquely her own.
February 21, 2018
'Not Under Forty' is one of those special books one can read again and again. Willa Cather writes about literature and writers, and in doing so she creates an extraordinary book. The first chapter, titled 'A chance Meeting', is my favourite. In this chapter, she writes about meeting an elegant woman in a posh hotel in the south of France. As they talk, the old woman turns out to be the niece of the French author Nabokov. Willa Cather writes about this revelation as thus:
'The meaning of her words came through to me slowly; so this must be the ''Caro'' of the Letters. There was nothing to say, certainly. The room was absolutely quiet, but there was nothing to say to this disclosure. It was like being suddenly brought up against a mountain of memories. One could not see around it; one could only stupidly realize that in this mountain which the old lady had conjured up by a phrase and a name or two lay most of one's mental past. Some moments went by. There was no word with which one could greet such a revelation. I took one of her lovely hands and kissed it, in homage to a great period…''
The book throughout maintains a great linguistic atmosphere, full of great observations on books and writers; and as a reader I felt fully immersed in her world and the world she describes. It also gives some amusing and astute observations on writers such as Dickens, Balzac, Nabokov, Lawrence and so forth. She wrote one full chapter on Katherine Mansfield. What is so amazing about this book is that I feel I am in close proximity of these writers.
Another great feature of this book (1936, Knopf) is its typography. It is such a delightful experience to hold this book and go through its pages. Surprisingly, as I finished the book, the last page of the book describes its design. I wish modern day publishers design at least a few books like this one. With the right content, style and design books become heavenly.
If you want to join a (dignified) literary party, grab this book.
'The meaning of her words came through to me slowly; so this must be the ''Caro'' of the Letters. There was nothing to say, certainly. The room was absolutely quiet, but there was nothing to say to this disclosure. It was like being suddenly brought up against a mountain of memories. One could not see around it; one could only stupidly realize that in this mountain which the old lady had conjured up by a phrase and a name or two lay most of one's mental past. Some moments went by. There was no word with which one could greet such a revelation. I took one of her lovely hands and kissed it, in homage to a great period…''
The book throughout maintains a great linguistic atmosphere, full of great observations on books and writers; and as a reader I felt fully immersed in her world and the world she describes. It also gives some amusing and astute observations on writers such as Dickens, Balzac, Nabokov, Lawrence and so forth. She wrote one full chapter on Katherine Mansfield. What is so amazing about this book is that I feel I am in close proximity of these writers.
Another great feature of this book (1936, Knopf) is its typography. It is such a delightful experience to hold this book and go through its pages. Surprisingly, as I finished the book, the last page of the book describes its design. I wish modern day publishers design at least a few books like this one. With the right content, style and design books become heavenly.
If you want to join a (dignified) literary party, grab this book.
August 23, 2021
«Domandarsi a bruciapelo: come si fa a conoscere qualcuno?»
La nipote di Flaubert (1936) è “l’incontro casuale” della prima delle sei prose contenute in questa brillante raccolta di memorie e digressioni su persone, arte, letteratura e relazioni umane. Il primo e l’ultimo scritto sono i più interessanti. Il primo riguarda un incontro che la scrittrice ebbe nel 1930 alla stazione termale francese di Aix-les-Bains, l’ultimo un incontro che la scrittrice ebbe con un uomo che aveva conosciuto Katherine Mansfield.
«Domandarsi a bruciapelo: come si fa a conoscere qualcuno?» ha scritto Julian Barnes in quello che forse è il più bel libro indiretto su Flaubert (Il pappagallo di Flaubert).
Caroline, la nipote di Flaubert, all’epoca più che ottantenne incontra Willa Cather, scrittrice affermata, allora cinquantenne. Tra loro inizia una conversazione vivace su musica, libri, vita di società, e naturalmente Flaubert.
Di passaggio vorrei soltanto dire che Flaubert amò sua nipote Caroline, figlia di sua sorella Caroline, che crebbe con lui e sua madre Caroline nella loro casa di Croisset; le Caroline amate da Flaubert furono ben quattro se si aggiunge la sua domestica di quand’era bambino. Quando la sorella di Flaubert morì, egli 25enne divenne padre putativo per Caroline, insegnante, amico, consigliere, sostegno economico. Pressappoco tutto.
Caroline che amò suo zio, e ne custodì diari, lettere e opere tutte non amava un grande romanzo come l’Educazione sentimentale, ‘troppo di conversazione’, Frederic Moreau troppo scialbo, senza nerbo. Un giovane che non sogna.
Willa Cather le risponde che sì il protagonista dell’Educazione sentimentale è un rinunciatario, non si laurea, non si lega alle donne che incontra, non riesce a vivere appieno la storia d’amore con Madame Arnoux, scappa dalle altre donne incontrate, o meglio non le ama come vorrebbe, non sa cosa vorrebbe apparentemente, chiede troppo o niente alle cose? non capisce l’arte ostentata nei salotti parigini, non si capiscono lui e il suo migliore amico, non afferra le ragioni delle insurrezioni del 1848, ma vi partecipa suo malgrado… però.
E poi il finale, abbandona l’università, torna alla sua casetta di provincia a vivere con sua madre e affiora in lui il ricordo di una delle giornate che ha vissuto con più intensità: la visita insieme a un amico d’infanzia a un bordello, dall’esterno, spiando cosa accadeva lì dentro. Il finale meno edificante della letteratura dell’Ottocento. Però.
Caroline poteva amare Frederic Moreau, in generale Vostro Onore una donna può amare Frederic Moreau? E Flaubert? aveva larghi tratti di Frederic Moreau, ma in fondo in fondo cosa ne sappiamo di un uomo, figuriamoci di un suo personaggio!
Willa Cather le risponde che alla fine del libro, tutta questa storia di un giovane non giovane, comprese le sue noie, i suoi sogni troppo alti da sembrare inesistenti, lascia nel lettore una sensazione di malinconia struggente, qualcosa che «ci resta» come una debolezza di cuore dopo certe malattie.
Nell’ultimo scritto una uomo riferisce a Willa Cather che in una viaggio in nave dalla Nuova Zelanda verso l’Australia, aveva conosciuto una ragazzina divertentissima, spiritosa, che aveva parlato con lui - pari a pari - ne ricordava ogni movimento o battuta e aveva pensato “questa ragazzina farà parlare di sé”.
Quando circa 15 anni dopo aveva appreso che Katherine Mansfield la talentuosa scrittrice emergente era la stessa bambina da lui incontrata anni prima, aveva voluto leggere i suoi racconti ed era rimasto delusissimo; a suo dire i racconti erano falsi, recitati, una posa artificiosa rispetto alla naturalezza della ragazzina che aveva conosciuto.
Di nuovo: voler conoscere le persone, le cose, il mondo, la naturalezza, per tirare le somme e sentirsi un po’ stupidi è quello che più ossessionava Flaubert, siamo un filo d’erba e vogliamo conoscere il prato. L’arte di Flaubert, questo tormentarci, non può non renderci un filo compassionevoli, infine?
La nipote di Flaubert (1936) è “l’incontro casuale” della prima delle sei prose contenute in questa brillante raccolta di memorie e digressioni su persone, arte, letteratura e relazioni umane. Il primo e l’ultimo scritto sono i più interessanti. Il primo riguarda un incontro che la scrittrice ebbe nel 1930 alla stazione termale francese di Aix-les-Bains, l’ultimo un incontro che la scrittrice ebbe con un uomo che aveva conosciuto Katherine Mansfield.
«Domandarsi a bruciapelo: come si fa a conoscere qualcuno?» ha scritto Julian Barnes in quello che forse è il più bel libro indiretto su Flaubert (Il pappagallo di Flaubert).
Caroline, la nipote di Flaubert, all’epoca più che ottantenne incontra Willa Cather, scrittrice affermata, allora cinquantenne. Tra loro inizia una conversazione vivace su musica, libri, vita di società, e naturalmente Flaubert.
Di passaggio vorrei soltanto dire che Flaubert amò sua nipote Caroline, figlia di sua sorella Caroline, che crebbe con lui e sua madre Caroline nella loro casa di Croisset; le Caroline amate da Flaubert furono ben quattro se si aggiunge la sua domestica di quand’era bambino. Quando la sorella di Flaubert morì, egli 25enne divenne padre putativo per Caroline, insegnante, amico, consigliere, sostegno economico. Pressappoco tutto.
Caroline che amò suo zio, e ne custodì diari, lettere e opere tutte non amava un grande romanzo come l’Educazione sentimentale, ‘troppo di conversazione’, Frederic Moreau troppo scialbo, senza nerbo. Un giovane che non sogna.
Willa Cather le risponde che sì il protagonista dell’Educazione sentimentale è un rinunciatario, non si laurea, non si lega alle donne che incontra, non riesce a vivere appieno la storia d’amore con Madame Arnoux, scappa dalle altre donne incontrate, o meglio non le ama come vorrebbe, non sa cosa vorrebbe apparentemente, chiede troppo o niente alle cose? non capisce l’arte ostentata nei salotti parigini, non si capiscono lui e il suo migliore amico, non afferra le ragioni delle insurrezioni del 1848, ma vi partecipa suo malgrado… però.
E poi il finale, abbandona l’università, torna alla sua casetta di provincia a vivere con sua madre e affiora in lui il ricordo di una delle giornate che ha vissuto con più intensità: la visita insieme a un amico d’infanzia a un bordello, dall’esterno, spiando cosa accadeva lì dentro. Il finale meno edificante della letteratura dell’Ottocento. Però.
Caroline poteva amare Frederic Moreau, in generale Vostro Onore una donna può amare Frederic Moreau? E Flaubert? aveva larghi tratti di Frederic Moreau, ma in fondo in fondo cosa ne sappiamo di un uomo, figuriamoci di un suo personaggio!
Willa Cather le risponde che alla fine del libro, tutta questa storia di un giovane non giovane, comprese le sue noie, i suoi sogni troppo alti da sembrare inesistenti, lascia nel lettore una sensazione di malinconia struggente, qualcosa che «ci resta» come una debolezza di cuore dopo certe malattie.
Nell’ultimo scritto una uomo riferisce a Willa Cather che in una viaggio in nave dalla Nuova Zelanda verso l’Australia, aveva conosciuto una ragazzina divertentissima, spiritosa, che aveva parlato con lui - pari a pari - ne ricordava ogni movimento o battuta e aveva pensato “questa ragazzina farà parlare di sé”.
Quando circa 15 anni dopo aveva appreso che Katherine Mansfield la talentuosa scrittrice emergente era la stessa bambina da lui incontrata anni prima, aveva voluto leggere i suoi racconti ed era rimasto delusissimo; a suo dire i racconti erano falsi, recitati, una posa artificiosa rispetto alla naturalezza della ragazzina che aveva conosciuto.
Di nuovo: voler conoscere le persone, le cose, il mondo, la naturalezza, per tirare le somme e sentirsi un po’ stupidi è quello che più ossessionava Flaubert, siamo un filo d’erba e vogliamo conoscere il prato. L’arte di Flaubert, questo tormentarci, non può non renderci un filo compassionevoli, infine?
March 16, 2019
I made the smooth-reader of this book for Distributed Proofreaders Canada and it will be published by FadedPage.
PREFATORY NOTE
The title of this book is meant to be “arresting” only in the literal sense, like the signs put up for motorists: “ROAD UNDER REPAIR,” etc. It means that the book will have little interest for people under forty years of age. The world broke in two in 1922 or thereabouts, and the persons and prejudices recalled in these sketches slid back into yesterday’s seven thousand years. Thomas Mann, to be sure, belongs immensely to the forward-goers, and they are concerned only with his forwardness. But he also goes back a long way, and his backwardness is more gratifying to the backward. It is for the backward, and by one of their number, that these sketches were written.
CONTENTS
I. A CHANCE MEETING
II. THE NOVEL DÉMEUBLÉ
III. 148 CHARLES STREET
IV. MISS JEWETT
V. “JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS”
VI. KATHERINE MANSFIELD
PREFATORY NOTE
The title of this book is meant to be “arresting” only in the literal sense, like the signs put up for motorists: “ROAD UNDER REPAIR,” etc. It means that the book will have little interest for people under forty years of age. The world broke in two in 1922 or thereabouts, and the persons and prejudices recalled in these sketches slid back into yesterday’s seven thousand years. Thomas Mann, to be sure, belongs immensely to the forward-goers, and they are concerned only with his forwardness. But he also goes back a long way, and his backwardness is more gratifying to the backward. It is for the backward, and by one of their number, that these sketches were written.
CONTENTS
I. A CHANCE MEETING
II. THE NOVEL DÉMEUBLÉ
III. 148 CHARLES STREET
IV. MISS JEWETT
V. “JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS”
VI. KATHERINE MANSFIELD
June 12, 2013
Lovely; the recipient of three stars mainly because my heart simply belongs to fiction these days. Several short notes on Willa Cather's encounters including gems like these:
"The world is always full of brilliant youth which fades into grey and embittered old age: the first flowering takes everything. The great men are those who have developed slowly, or who have been able to survive the glamour of their early florescence and to go on learning from life."
"What we most love is not bizarre invention, but to have old story brought home to us closer than ever before, enriched by all that the right man could draw from it and, by sympathetic insight, put into it. Shakespeare knew this fact very well, and the Greek dramatists long before him."
"The world is always full of brilliant youth which fades into grey and embittered old age: the first flowering takes everything. The great men are those who have developed slowly, or who have been able to survive the glamour of their early florescence and to go on learning from life."
"What we most love is not bizarre invention, but to have old story brought home to us closer than ever before, enriched by all that the right man could draw from it and, by sympathetic insight, put into it. Shakespeare knew this fact very well, and the Greek dramatists long before him."
March 9, 2024
Willa Cather’s hard-to-find collection of essays harkens to a gentler time when ladies of letters shared their access to the pinnacle of culture within the rank and file of their rarefied worlds. Written in no particular order, individual essays are designated as chapters. Some chapters weave a continuing story; others are one-off essays with no real reason for making their appearance among the other stories. The only theme in common among this mishmash is that, with two exceptions, the stories are about women—contemporaries of Willa Cather. Frenchwoman Madame Franklin-Grout, the niece of Gustave Flaubert, pursues Willa Cather, while sharing her private musings about her famous uncle. The saga of 148 Charles Street portrays Annie Adams Fields, widow of the publisher James T. Fields, as the reigning social doyenne of 19th Century Boston. Mrs. Fields opened her home to the best and brightest, offering great food, entertainment, conversation and companionship. Miss Jewett is a sequence of tales about Sarah Orne Jewett and her deep, meaningful friendships with other women of letters, including Annie Adams Fields. The story of literary lioness Katherine Mansfield is told through the eyes of the mysterious Mr. J—who found her to be sublimely seductive and an intellectually compelling force to reckon with, even as a child. The two exceptions to the stories about women seem out of place and feel very much like half-baked literary criticism, as if Cather was doing someone a favor. Joseph and His Brothers is a mad rambling about the series (of the same name) written by Thomas Mann. The Novel Demeuble, a brief a discourse on the nature of the novel, seems unfinished. Overall, Cather shines as a solid writer, but it is clear that non-fiction is not her forte. Her true strength lies within her powerful works of fiction.
April 25, 2013
This was the fifth of Cather's works I have read, and the first that failed to win my heart. It is pretty dull, hasn't stood up to the test of time as far as I see it, and the third star is given only because she takes such time and care to develop the character of an old woman as a human being, rather than just an old woman.
Unless your world is steeped in the European music and culture of the 1920's and 1930's, and unless you have the patience to unravel one paragraph after another in French (most of which I could,some I couldn't without outside help, and the story was boring enough that I got sick of it), then give this a pass.
Unless your world is steeped in the European music and culture of the 1920's and 1930's, and unless you have the patience to unravel one paragraph after another in French (most of which I could,some I couldn't without outside help, and the story was boring enough that I got sick of it), then give this a pass.
October 16, 2007
I sought out this 1936 collection of essays by Willa Cather because I knew it contained a piece entitled "Miss Jewett," about the author of The Country of the Pointed Firs , a book that I recently read and dearly loved. But I didn't realize that Cather's title meant that this book was not intended for anyone under 40 years of age. Hooray! We old-timers deserve a book of our own, like a club with a password that the youngsters don't get to join.
January 25, 2011
This is the book that redeemed Willa Cather for me. Growing up in Virginia and Nebraska, as she herself did, I was forced to read her novels--but they were held up as some sort of patriotism. It's only as an adult that I realized what a fine writer she was, not just as a novelist, but also an essayist, as in this volume. I read it when I was in my late 20s, so I defied her belief that no one under 40 would like the collection....but in my early 40s now, I still find it a powerful book.
February 3, 2021
This is a series of brilliant character sketches by a brilliant sketcher of characters, Willa Cather. She outlines Sarah Orne Jewett, Flaubert's niece, and some other folks whose kind has vanished from the earth, that being the meaning of the strange title of the book, ie persons under forty at the time the book was published c0uld not have had any contact with the type of person contained within the book.
The book's characters are gentle, hyper-cultured, kind and artistically and socially useful to a very small and very high circle; they are terrifyingly though not vulgarly rich.
And economically, from our vantage point, I say, good riddance, though socially and aesthetically I understand Cather's pain at their passing. And then I feel like an off-brand version of James's character-- what's his name? Hyacinth?-- in The Princess Cassimassima, saying that maybe we should all live better, instead of tearing down those few who do live better.
Anyway, if you're interested in Cather or Jewett, I guess, read this book.
The book's characters are gentle, hyper-cultured, kind and artistically and socially useful to a very small and very high circle; they are terrifyingly though not vulgarly rich.
And economically, from our vantage point, I say, good riddance, though socially and aesthetically I understand Cather's pain at their passing. And then I feel like an off-brand version of James's character-- what's his name? Hyacinth?-- in The Princess Cassimassima, saying that maybe we should all live better, instead of tearing down those few who do live better.
Anyway, if you're interested in Cather or Jewett, I guess, read this book.
October 25, 2020
Willa Cather's final collection of essays and each one focuses on an experience she has had with a writer and their writings. Someone described it as a look into how she formed her own way of writing fiction. So, a Willa Cather masterclass?
I think I am going to go back through the book and add the books and authors mentioned to my list of future readings including Flaubert, Katherine Mansfield, and Thomas Mann.
I think I am going to go back through the book and add the books and authors mentioned to my list of future readings including Flaubert, Katherine Mansfield, and Thomas Mann.
August 15, 2016
Me han encantado las reseñas sobre Mann y K. Mansfield, tan sinceras y sensibles. En general, son comentarios sobre autores que conoce bien, y que estemos de acuerdo o no con sus gustos es otra historia. Lo que aporta es su punto de vista y sus conocimientos de manera seria y bien razonada, cosa que yo le agradezco mucho.
June 17, 2013
My kind of space cadet, and a full 5 stars for the first essay about her friendship with Flaubert's niece.
September 14, 2025
Mlle Alice, pouvez-vous nous raconter votre rencontre avec La Nièce de Flaubert ?
"En farfouillant par-ci, par-là, en cherchant des textes courts d'auteurs que je souhaite découvrir, j'ai fini par tomber sur celui-ci et j'ai été tout de suite intriguée."
Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
"Willa Cather, alors en vacances à Aix-les-Bains, se lie d'amitié avec une vieille dame avant de découvrir qu'elle n'est autre que la nièce de Flaubert, un auteur qu'elle admire beaucoup..."
Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous ?
"C'est un petit opus assez anecdotique en soit. Willa Cather rencontre la nièce de Flaubert, qui lui parle de sa jeunesse avec son oncle, ses oeuvres, ses rencontres avec ses amis tels que Tourgueniev ou Sand. De ce qu'elle dit vraiment, très peu nous est rapporté finalement, mais ce très peu reste interessant. Ce texte m'a donné envie de lire les mémoires de Caroline, pour en savoir plus, et surtout, surtout, la correspondance de Flaubert à sa nièce, dont on a quelques extraits à la fin et qui donnent à voir un homme d'une grande tendresse et qui ne fait pas semblant de s'intéresser à celle qu'il a élevé. Ai-je, pour autant, l'intention de revenir plus généralement à ses romans ? Je ne suis pas sûre, comme je ne suis pas certaine d'en savoir beaucoup plus sur Willa Cather. Mais c'est l'histoire d'une jolie rencontre, brève, touchante et pleine de charme."
Et comment cela s'est-il fini ?
"Willa Cather dit de la nièce de Flaubert que c'était une femme d'une grande bonté, qui garda toute sa vie une véritable admiration pour son oncle. Je n'ai pas pu m'empêcher de faire le parallèle avec Fanny, la nièce de Jane Austen, qui après avoir été très proche de sa tante pendant sa jeunesse et bénéficié souvent de ses conseils et de son attention, la dénigrera sans vergogne dans sa vieillesse."
http://booksaremywonderland.hautetfor...
"En farfouillant par-ci, par-là, en cherchant des textes courts d'auteurs que je souhaite découvrir, j'ai fini par tomber sur celui-ci et j'ai été tout de suite intriguée."
Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
"Willa Cather, alors en vacances à Aix-les-Bains, se lie d'amitié avec une vieille dame avant de découvrir qu'elle n'est autre que la nièce de Flaubert, un auteur qu'elle admire beaucoup..."
Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous ?
"C'est un petit opus assez anecdotique en soit. Willa Cather rencontre la nièce de Flaubert, qui lui parle de sa jeunesse avec son oncle, ses oeuvres, ses rencontres avec ses amis tels que Tourgueniev ou Sand. De ce qu'elle dit vraiment, très peu nous est rapporté finalement, mais ce très peu reste interessant. Ce texte m'a donné envie de lire les mémoires de Caroline, pour en savoir plus, et surtout, surtout, la correspondance de Flaubert à sa nièce, dont on a quelques extraits à la fin et qui donnent à voir un homme d'une grande tendresse et qui ne fait pas semblant de s'intéresser à celle qu'il a élevé. Ai-je, pour autant, l'intention de revenir plus généralement à ses romans ? Je ne suis pas sûre, comme je ne suis pas certaine d'en savoir beaucoup plus sur Willa Cather. Mais c'est l'histoire d'une jolie rencontre, brève, touchante et pleine de charme."
Et comment cela s'est-il fini ?
"Willa Cather dit de la nièce de Flaubert que c'était une femme d'une grande bonté, qui garda toute sa vie une véritable admiration pour son oncle. Je n'ai pas pu m'empêcher de faire le parallèle avec Fanny, la nièce de Jane Austen, qui après avoir été très proche de sa tante pendant sa jeunesse et bénéficié souvent de ses conseils et de son attention, la dénigrera sans vergogne dans sa vieillesse."
http://booksaremywonderland.hautetfor...
September 23, 2020
The title refers to the fact that readers over forty are more likely to be interested in this book. But considering Cather tells you that in the Prefatory Note where she says "the world broke in two in 1922 or thereabouts," perhaps that suggestion can be set aside? But I love what follows that statement about the world breaking in two in 1922: "...and the persons and prejudices recalled in these sketches slid back into yesterday's seven thousand years." Isn't that great? Doesn't it make you curious? The book is worth it for the Prefatory Note alone, and it's only a fairly short paragraph. But the rest of the contents are wonderful. She tells stories of her meetings with various literary figures, and there's a review of Thomas Mann's "Joseph and His Brothers" (which I'm hoping to read someday), and the book also includes her brief essay, "The Novel Demeuble" (sorry, I don't know how to put the accents on the French word). Highly recommended!
February 20, 2018
My Original Notes (1997):
Fair. Essays regarding Cather's impressions on good literature. None of the essays grabbed my attention. One, I couldn't even finish reading.
My Current Thoughts:
No recollection of this book or the essays. I wonder if I would have a great appreciation for it now that I'm over 40. :)
Fair. Essays regarding Cather's impressions on good literature. None of the essays grabbed my attention. One, I couldn't even finish reading.
My Current Thoughts:
No recollection of this book or the essays. I wonder if I would have a great appreciation for it now that I'm over 40. :)
December 21, 2020
Some of the literary criticism contained therein was over my head, not being well-read enough to keep up with Cather. And her penchant for quoting straight from the French without regard to ignorant unilingual folks like myself can hamper some efforts to follow her thread. But reading Cather is always a privilege.
April 5, 2023
Not a word out of place...
Not a place out of time, that makes one long for more of what cannot be had without the aid of such a guide as Cather. She renders false the truism about the necessity of reading less commentary and more of that which is its subject. In her wise hands the subject Is her commentary, art created from the medium of another artist’s essence.
Not a place out of time, that makes one long for more of what cannot be had without the aid of such a guide as Cather. She renders false the truism about the necessity of reading less commentary and more of that which is its subject. In her wise hands the subject Is her commentary, art created from the medium of another artist’s essence.
March 7, 2024
A collection of essays about authors and other people Cather met, so titled because it's not for people under the age of forty, as they'd have no appreciation for it. Since it was published some 32 years before I was even born, I guess I qualify as the Not Under Forty set, since this was pleasant but dull for me.
September 6, 2017
Une très chouette lecture qui nous en apprend un peu plus sur Flaubert au travers des paroles de sa nièce. On découvre ainsi un versant familial peu connu de l'auteur. J'ai bien envie de lire sa correspondance avec celle-ci maintenant.
December 11, 2017
La letteratura viene raccontata e spiegata, in queste pagine, con tanta passione e con "intelligenza della letteratura".
Nel mio cuore hanno un posto speciale quei libri che parlano del mondo della letteratura, e che ne parlano con quella "luce negli occhi" che ho anche io quando ne parlo.
Nel mio cuore hanno un posto speciale quei libri che parlano del mondo della letteratura, e che ne parlano con quella "luce negli occhi" che ho anche io quando ne parlo.
January 10, 2023
A funny little collection of essays about writers (Flaubert, Sarah Orne Jewett, Thomas Mann and Katherine Mansfield) and written through the lens of Cather’s chance encounters with them or people who knew them.
September 3, 2018
How wonderful to step into the world of Willa Cather as she reflects on literary giants, on writing, and on the human condition.
December 8, 2018
The opening reminiscence of an old Frenchwoman with an extraordinary life experience is one of the best things in Cather's oeuvre.
January 22, 2021
Le livre n’est pas passionnant mais écrit par l’une de seule autrice ouvertement lesbienne aux Etats-Unis au début du 20eme siècle !
May 20, 2021
Interesting. Five short stories. Yes, I would read it again.
November 22, 2022
dnf. it's so boring.
June 15, 2023
This is one of the most lucid collections of criticism I’ve ever read. The voice sticks to the crevices of my mind.
Read
October 20, 2024i feel i can't rate this as i am very literally not in the target demographic. didn't expect her to like balzac so much but it makes sense in hindsight
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