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Description
La Vallée-aux-Loups - Châtenay-Malabry (France), April 2016

Quietly tucked away deep within what is now a genteel corner of suburbia in the south of Paris lie the vast grounds of the domaine de la Vallée-aux-Loups, of which one of the main features is the house in which French writer, politician and diplomat François-René de Chateaubriand lived between 1807 and 1818. One of the great authors of the first part of the 19th century and of French literature overall, Chateaubriand was a leading figure of his days, in the tumultuous years of post-Revolution France : if his political career had as many lows as highs, his own allegiances successively leaning towards anti-Bonapartism, ultra-royalism and finally a more liberal form of conservatism, he will be best remembered as the founder of French Romanticism, his work having an impact on such great writers as Lord Byron or Victor Hugo.

The Vallée-aux-Loups ("Wolf Vale"), in spite of its name evocative of deep forests and fiercely cold winters, was a peaceful and rustic retreat for Chateaubriand, who lived there until one of his numerous falls from grace compelled him to sell the property. There, amid the majestic trees, he wrote extensive parts of his work. Today, the grounds are dotted with little hanging posters bearing excerpts from his books and letters. This one reads :

There are happy geniuses who have no need to consult anyone, who effortlessly produce perfect, bountiful works ; I have none of this natural good fortune, especially as regards literature : only through hard toil do I manage to get something done ; I go over the same page twenty times in a row, only to find myself still dissatisfied with it : due to the multitude of corrections and revisions, my manuscripts and proofs are genuine embroideries, the thread of which I myself have the utmost difficulty to find.

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Dedicated to , that she may find comfort in the knowledge that masters of their art were never completely free of self-doubt, yet managed to create beautiful and celebrated works.

Description
La Vallée-aux-Loups - Châtenay-Malabry (France), April 2016

Quietly tucked away deep within what is now a genteel corner of suburbia in the south of Paris lie the vast grounds of the domaine de la Vallée-aux-Loups, of which one of the main features is the house in which French writer, politician and diplomat François-René de Chateaubriand lived between 1807 and 1818. One of the great authors of the first part of the 19th century and of French literature overall, Chateaubriand was a leading figure of his days, in the tumultuous years of post-Revolution France : if his political career had as many lows as highs, his own allegiances successively leaning towards anti-Bonapartism, ultra-royalism and finally a more liberal form of conservatism, he will be best remembered as the founder of French Romanticism, his work having an impact on such great writers as Lord Byron or Victor Hugo.

The Vallée-aux-Loups ("Wolf Vale"), in spite of its name evocative of deep forests and fiercely cold winters, was a peaceful and rustic retreat for Chateaubriand, who lived there until one of his numerous falls from grace compelled him to sell the property. There, amid the majestic trees, he wrote extensive parts of his work. Today, the grounds are dotted with little hanging posters bearing excerpts from his books and letters. This one reads :

There are happy geniuses who have no need to consult anyone, who effortlessly produce perfect, bountiful works ; I have none of this natural good fortune, especially as regards literature : only through hard toil do I manage to get something done ; I go over the same page twenty times in a row, only to find myself still dissatisfied with it : due to the multitude of corrections and revisions, my manuscripts and proofs are genuine embroideries, the thread of which I myself have the utmost difficulty to find.

-----------------------------------------

Dedicated to , that she may find comfort in the knowledge that masters of their art were never completely free of self-doubt, yet managed to create beautiful and celebrated works.