BALZAC (de), Honoré (1799-1850)

Autograph letter signed in the third person « M. de Balzac » to Maurice Schlesinger
N.d.n.p, Sunday [1837], 1/2 p. in-8 with autograph address

“It is absolutely necessary to agree on Gambara”

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BALZAC (de), Honoré (1799-1850)

Autograph letter signed in the third person « M. de Balzac » to Maurice Schlesinger
N.d.n.p, Sunday [1837], 1/2 p. in-8 with autograph address
Previously mounted, mark on 4th sheet

Balzac evokes his masterpiece Gambara, from the Philosophical Studies of The Human Comedy


« M. de Balzac espère que demain lundi Monsieur Schlesinger sera chez lui entre dis heures et midi, car il faut absolument s’entendre sur Gambara, M. de Balzac le prie d’agréer ses compliments.
Dimanche »



Gambara is a short story by Honoré de Balzac, first published in 1837 in the Revue et gazette musicale de Paris at the request of Maurice Schlesinger, then reprinted in La Comédie humaine where it is part of the Études philosophiques.
We find in this work the formidable artistic intuition of the author of La Comédie humaine. While, in The Unknown Masterpiece, Balzac explored the genius of the painter and searched the soul of a sculptor in Saracen, he approaches musical art in Gambara through the character of an instrument maker turned composer of crazy music.

This small novel, which remained misunderstood when it was published, has since been recognized as a work of great scope.

References:
Correspondance vol. II, Pléiade, p. 171 n°36-202