La Doublure

Roussel, Raymond. La Doublure. Paris: Jean-Jacques Pauvert, 1963. Reprint. Octavo. 194, [2]pp. Original printed wrappers. Title page in red and black lettering. In 1896, Raymond Roussel* spent six months writing his first book – this novel in verse titled “La Doublure” – closed off from the world, inside his parent’s mansion. The 19-year-old poet was convinced that he would become the next Victor Hugo or Jules Verne, and while writing, experienced an “intense sensation of universal glory.” Rays of light radiated from him. The words shot out of his pen like a flare-gun. The curtains in his room were closed tight over the windows – a sensory deprivation reminiscent of Proust (incidentally, Roussel’s childhood neighbor) in his cork-padded room – because he worried the light from his pen might escape into the outside world.”La Doublure” (which means “the lining” or “the understudy”), composed in Alexandrine couplets, begins as a tale of a failed actor but digresses into a lengthy description of a carnival in Nice – approximately two thirds of the poem, some 4,600 lines, were devoted to cataloging the various floats and masks of the parade. The book was published at the author’s expense, and unsurprisingly because of its difficulty and obscurity, the literary public responded with almost complete indifference. One reviewer called it “more or less unintelligible,” and another “very boring.” Roussel then experienced something like a plane-crash or a very bad comedown. A period of depression followed, which was recorded by his doctor, the famous psychologist Pierre Janet: “When the volume appeared and the young man, with great emotion, went out into the street and realized that no one was turning to stare at him as he passed, the sensations of glory and luminosity were suddenly extinguished.” Spine slightly discolored, with minor rubbing along edges. Text in French. Wrappers in overall good+, interior in very good condition. g+ to vg. Softcover.

* Raymond Roussel (1877-1933) was a French poet, novelist, playwright, musician, and chess enthusiast. Through his novels, poems, and plays he exerted a profound influence on certain groups within 20th century French literature, including the Surrealists, Oulipo, and the authors of the nouveau roman. (38201) $45