CÉLINE, Louis Ferdinand (1894-1961)

CÉLINE, Louis Ferdinand (1894-1961)

Manuscrit autographe (fragment) pour son roman Nord
N.p.n.d [Meudon, between 1957 and 1859], 1 p. in-4°
Paper clip holes on corners

Precious first draft manuscript fragment for his novel Nord

« 1092) et vlang ! referme la lourde ! malades ?.. je crois pas… mais au moins nous voici fixés !
– Tu comprends, la Vigue ?
-Oui !.. oui !.. ça va !
Y a plus qu’à retourner chez nous… oh, mais Léonard et Joseph ont bien biglé ! ils se foutent de nous… la queue entre les jambes et portant leur oreille”
eux veulent pas se montrer ! ils font signe que nous approchons… nous longeons l’étang… le purin… nous voici chez eux… ils nous font venir.
Alors ? je les stipule…
– Allez ! oust ! qu’est-ce que c’est ? il faut qu’on rentre ! »

The present fragment, folio 1092, has been much crossed out and corrected, and has many variations with the published version of the text. We can see the marks of an obstinate proofreading as well as the improvements made by Céline. This folio should relate to sequences 19 to 33 of the final manuscript that the writer will present to the publisher, i.e. pages 762-1141.

The second novel in the German trilogy, transposing into a novel the peregrinations in Germany at the end of the war, of Céline, his wife Lucette and their cat Bébert, in the company of the actor Le Vigan, Nord is a sequel to D’un château l’autre (1957). The writing lasted two and a half years, from the spring of 1957 to the end of 1959; the novel was published by Gallimard in May 1960. It is the last work published during Céline’s lifetime.