240 - KESSEL (Joseph), 1898–1979.

KESSEL (Joseph), 1898–1979. Extensive correspondence addressed to Christian Melchior-Bonnet (1905–1995, historian, writer, literary director of several publishing houses, and founder of the journal *Historia*), 1923–1955. 14 original letters, several with envelopes; a few documents and copies of letters enclosed. A very interesting literary correspondence, spanning more than thirty years, addressed to the journalist and man of letters Christian Melchior-Bonnet, in which Kessel speaks with a certain candor about his education, his literary tastes, his plans for novels, his work as a writer and reporter, and his relationships with his publishers. It paints an extraordinary portrait of the writer as he evolves over the decades and reveals, up until 1955, the fundamental alternation in Kessel’s work and life between fiction and journalism, sedentary work and an irrepressible need to travel. - Autograph letter signed “J. Kessel,” [Paris, December 15, 1923], 1 p. 1/4 in-8, with envelope. A very beautiful autobiographical letter from the young Kessel, then aged 25. He outlines his life in broad strokes: journalism since the age of 17, serving in the artillery and then the air force during the war, a trip around the world after the armistice, America, Honolulu, Japan, China, and Vladivostok, where he served as “stationmaster,” then a return journey via the Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal. Above all, he expresses his literary tastes: “a love of simplicity, of robust and profound power, of books that lay bare the human condition and deal only with its eternal, elemental instincts.” For him, Tolstoy is “the greatest writer,” whose “epic fertility” and “serene, Olympian majesty” he admires; he also cites Kipling and Jack London. - Autograph letter signed “J. Kessel,” [Paris, July 1, 1924], 4 pp., in-8 with envelope. An exceptional and lengthy letter discussing his projects and his conception of literature. Kessel describes the “chaos” of ideas that precedes his choice of a book. He initially considers drawing on his experiences from 1918–1920 in the Russian and Chinese Far East to write a vast epic devoted in particular to Baron Ungern, the conqueror of Mongolia. But another subject now obsesses him: “the Russians in Paris”—a clash of “two races, two civilizations, two natures, both chaos and fusion at once”—which offers him immense material for a novel. He also announced his translation of *The Messiah Without a People* (by Salomon Poliakov), which would appear in French in 1925 in his translation, and a short story about Ireland intended for the *Revue des Deux Mondes*. Finally, he articulates a true literary creed: he does not wish to write novels dominated by “bedroom psychology,” as his era strikes him as “too rich, too violent, too bitter, and too intoxicating” not to draw upon its major currents. With striking modesty, he still considered himself “a beginner” and judged *L’Équipage* to be “a passable book.” - Autograph letter signed “J. Kessel,” [Sceaux, received October 5, 1924], 1 p. in-4, with enclosed envelope and photographic portrait. Kessel apologizes for his delays and sends Melchior-Bonnet “two or three pages from an unfinished manuscript that will never be completed, I think,” along with an amateur photograph. The original photograph of Kessel is included (but not the handwritten pages). - Letter from the author “J. Kessel,” Paris, [received February 22, 1927], 1½ pages, in-8, with envelope. Regarding the upcoming publication of *Cœurs purs*, a collection bringing together “Mary de Cork,” “Makhno [and His Jewess],” and “Captain Sogoub’s Tea.” Kessel would like the interview prepared by Melchior-Bonnet to coincide with the volume’s release. He also mentions a novel in progress, provisionally titled “Marie Salope,” which he expressly asks not to be disclosed and to be replaced, in the article, with “Chez Anaïs”: “It is the most difficult novel I have ever tackled, and I am working on it with great care.” He is, of course, referring here to *Belle de Jour*, which would be published in 1928. - L.A.S. “J. Kessel,” undated [received May 11, 1927], 1 p., in-12. Writing from Switzerland, Kessel announces his imminent return to Paris and looks forward to seeing Melchior-Bonnet again and reading what the latter has written about their conversation. - Autograph letter "J. Kessel" [Paris, November 22, 1928], 1 p., in-8, with envelope. Upon his return from Syria, Kessel gladly agrees to be interviewed for his correspondent: “I would be very happy to be profiled by you, as I am sure it will be to my advantage,” and invites him to lunch at his parents’ home on Boulevard Brune. - Autograph letter signed “J. Kessel,” April 15, 1941, Antéor (Var), 2 pp., in-12. Returning from a trip to North Africa, Kessel is deeply moved to reconnect with his correspondent after “so many disasters”; both have remained devoted to “matters of the mind,” “the only safe and true ground that remains.” He is working on a sweeping novel that