195 - [MANUSCRIPT - SABATIER] PYRÈNE, Georges. The Memoirs of Simone de Liane, Courtesan (1885–1911).

[MANUSCRIPT - SABATIER] PYRÈNE, Georges. The Memoirs of Simone de Liane, Courtesan (1885–1911). Complete autograph manuscript of this roman à clef inspired by the legendary courtesan Liane de Pougy. This literary pastiche offers a deep dive into Parisian artistic life during the Belle Époque, featuring significant details about Isadora Duncan. No place, no date [circa 1913]. Oblong 8vo (200 x 220 mm), half-glazed calfskin, smooth spine adorned with a title label, gilt head. 237 handwritten pages in blue ink, paginated. Binding shows signs of wear (as is). Interior in perfect, pristine condition. A very neat manuscript in fluid, continuous handwriting, characteristic of a final clean copy prepared for publication. This novel was published by the Parisian publisher Eugène Figuière in 1914. The author, Georges Sabatier (1877–1941), was a physician from Pau with a passion for literature who wrote under the pseudonym Georges Pyrène (Pyrénées: official journal of the Pyrenean Museum, July 1950, p. 134). Presented in the form of rediscovered memoirs, this text is in fact a subtle roman à clef directly inspired by iconic figures of the Belle Époque. “Simone de Liane” appears to be an unambiguous tribute to the famous courtesan Liane de Pougy (1869–1950). While the narrative fictionally sets the heroine’s death in 1911, it is worth noting that, historically, Liane de Pougy “died” to her status as a demi-mondaine when she married Prince Georges Ghika in 1910 to enter the high aristocracy. The manuscript’s greatest strength lies in its portrayal of Parisian artistic life at the turn of the century. In particular, it contains a vivid description of a performance by Isadora Duncan set to Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, in which the narrator masterfully depicts—with a keen sensitivity to beauty and poetry—her own aesthetic rapture in the presence of the American dancer (pages 87–101). A fascinating manuscript on Parisian artistic life at the turn of the 20th century.