FRENCH 17

AMODEO, IMMACOLATA. "Le spectacle du corps. Images corporelles du XVIIe siècle au cinéma." In Erdmann, Eva and Konrad Schoell, eds. Le comique corporel: Mouvement et comique dans l'espace théâtral du XVIIe siècle. Biblio 17 Number 163. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, 2006. 149–160.

The author examines the representation of the body in three modern films: Ariane Mnouchkine's Molière focuses on the use of the boy to create comic effects; Gérard Corbiau's Le roi danse illustrates how dance reflected court society's desire for mastery and control of the body as well as the theology of the king's two bodies; Roberto Rossellini's La Prise du pouvoir par Louis XIV displays the royal body in the public spectacles of the "lever," "coucher," and mealtimes at Versailles.

AROUI, JEAN-LOUIS. "Remarques métriques sur le sonnet français." SFr no. 147 (2005): 501–509.

Fills a lacuna in sonnet studies as it examines the functioning of the sonnet form "sur le plan perceptif" (501). Extensive and helpful literature review and bibliography complement Aroui's design and analysis of "un modèle du genre, un 'prototype' formel" (507).

ASSAF, FRANCIS. "Philosophies et visions de la mort dans le premier âge baroque." PFSCL XXXIII, 65 (2006), 403–418.

Examines the topos of death in the work of poets Agrippa d'Aubigné, Jean de Sponde, Jean-Baptiste Chassignet, and François de Maynard.

BAUSTERT, RAYMOND. La Consolation érudite: huit études sur les sources des lettres de consolation de 1600 à 1650. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, 2003.

Review: R. Parish in FS 59.3 (2005), 392–393: Though the mise en page of this work leads to some confusion as to whether one is reading a source, a comment, or something else, according to the reviewer, this grouping of Baustert's articles, and in particular the last half of them, is "an impressive piece of scholarship in its own right." The author brings many little-known authors to light while lending cohesion and understanding to the genre of consolation letters.

BEASLEY, FAITH E. Salons, History, and the Creation of Seventeenth-Century France: Mastering Memory. Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate, 2006.

Review: C. B. Kerr in Choice 44 (2006), 117: Noting that collective memory is regulated by cultural and political forces, Beasley probes the deliberateness with which early modern salon women were culturally elevated and then dismissed. Beasley then "revitalizes the image of the salonnières by showing how they defined taste, created new genres with important social messages, and helped mold a language that became a unifying tool under Louis XIV." With admirable attention to rarely studied authors; an "exceptional book" (117).

BEASLEY, FAITH E. & KATHLEEN WINE, eds. Intersections. Actes du 35e congrès annuel de la North American Society for Seventeenth-Century French Literature, Dartmouth College, 8–10 mai 2003. Biblio 17 Number 161. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, 2005.

All articles in this volume are summarized in the current issue of French 17.

BERTAUD, MADELEINE, ed. Travaux de Littérature, 16. Les Grandes Peurs I. Diable, fléaux, etc. Genève: ADIREL, 2003.

Review: D. Reynaud in RF 117 (2005): 562–63: The aim of this ambitious, encyclopedic number of TL, the first of two on the theme of "Les Grandes Peurs", is to illuminate "ce que les écrivains ont voulu dire" on this diverse and fascinating subject. Demonstrates both a "unité d'objet" and a "unité méthodologique" as it leads us from the Middle Ages to the late 20th c. Divided into five parts ("Diables et diableries", "Fléaux-épidémies", "Peurs mises en scène", "Autres temps, autres peurs", "Peurs des fins") each of which is organized chronologically, the volume contains among its erudite and pertinent essays several of interest to 17th c. scholars, in particular Dennis Donetzkoff's on the devil at Port-Royal and Jean-Pierre Collinet's on the fear of the wolf chez La Fontaine (the latter is appreciated both for its "précision du propos et. . . perspective d'ensemble"). Index includes some 800 names. Only reservation of Reynaud is the volume's "caractère franco-français."

BERTRAND, DOMINIQUE, éd. Mémoire du volcan et modernité. Actes du colloque international du Programme Pluriformation " Connaissance et représentation des volcans,  》 Université Blaise Pascal, 16–18 octobre 2001. Paris : Champion, 2004.

Review : M. Closson in BHR 68.1 (2006), 168–70 : 《  Rassemblant les communications de vingt-sept spécialistes, l'ouvrage est divisé en cinq parties qui, en confrontant les analyses sur des textes et des images de diverses époques, répondent bien au titre donné au livre; il s'agit d'interroger le lien entre les représentations fabuleuses et mythiques et l'émergence à partir de la Renaissance d'un 'discours moderne' sur le volcan, généralement lié à l'observation directe, discours qui lui-même ne peut être pensé en dehors d'un intertexte littéraire. . .. 》 Voir les contributions de J.-C. Margolin sur les 《  impressions des voyageurs de la Renaissance et du XVIIe siècle  》 du Vésuve ; de S. Taussig sur 《  le regard des libertins Naudé et Gassendi, sur l'éruption du Vésuve de 1631  》 ; de C. Cerf sur 《  le travail souterrain de l'imaginaire du volcan aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles  》 ; de D. Bertrand sur le 《  'palimpseste burlesque' par Scarron de la légende de l'Etna.  》

BERTRAND, DOMINIQUE, ed. Penser la nuit (XVe–XVIIe Siècle). Actes du colloque international du C.E.R.H.A.C. (Centre d'Etudes sur les Réformes, l'Humanisme et l'Age classique) de l'Université Blaise Pascal (22–24 juin 2000). Paris : Honoré Champion, 2003.

Review : O. Pot in BHR 68.2 (2006), 382–386 : 《  Or ce colloque à qui la phrase de Nietzsche 'La nuit est aussi un soleil' aurait pu servir d'épigraphe vise à déterminer dans quelles mesure il est possible de 'penser' la nuit, de la dire, autrement et diversement selon que son traitement ressortit au discours de la science, au genre narratif, à la poésie ou à la mise en scène politique.  》 Voir les contributions de S. Taussig 《  Gassendi contre la métaphore : la nuit  》) ; C. Martin (《  Entretiens sur la pluralités des Mondes de Fontenelle  》 ; D. Mauri (《  Le temps-espace de la nuit dans les romans de Béroalde de Verville  》) ; P. Rossetto (《  La nuit approvoisée dans l'Astrée) ; M. Closson (《  Scénographies nocturnes du baroque : l'exemple du ballet français 1581–1653  》) ; A. Gaillard (《  Le soleil à son coucher : la nuit réversible de la mythologie solaire sous Louis XIV  》) ; C. Carlin (《  La nuit du couple : la dissolution du mariage dans l'imaginaire des XVIe et XVIIe siècles  》).

BEUGNOT, BERNARD. "Fascination du minéral: la contemplation du temps." E Cr 45 (2005): 10–18.

"L'imaginaire minéralogique" is the focus of this rich, instructive and highly evocative essay. Beugnot's panorama, from the jewels of sacred and profane antiquity to Claudel and other moderns, includes important examples drawn from the 17th c. relating to eloquence and poetry. Beautifully written and with highly useful documentation, Beugnot's essay reminds that "les pierres sont 'les vrais archives de l'humanité, la mémoire du monde'" (Frederico Cesi, qtd. by B., 16).

BIET, CHRISTIAN. Droit et littérature sous l'Ancien Régime. Le jeu de la valeur et de la loi. Paris: Honoré Champion, 2002.

Review: P. Ronzeaud in DSS 231 (2006), 361–364: The reviewer finds this to be Biet's most ambitious, important, and fascinating book to date. "Dans le cadre d'une analyse des rapports entre fictions juridiques, fictions judiciaires et fictions littéraires, dont la dynamique comparatiste met presque en abyme son approche globale des relations entre droit et littérature, sous l'Ancien Régime, Biet étudie le fonctionnement de la 《 fiction de continuation 》 (p.147) par laquelle 《 une personne se poursuit quel que soit le corps qui l'enveloppe. 》"

BIET, CHRISTIAN. "'Libérez Fouquet ! Expulsons les jésuites !', La lecture d'une théâtralité janséniste comme lieu politique de sociabilité." PFSCL XXXIII, 64 (2006), 161–192.

A brilliant insightful piece concerning the anonymous L'Innocence persécutée. "L'idée est. . . de démontrer ici que l'assemblée-séance, qui caractérise le théâtre de ce temps, peut déborder l'événement pour, dans le cas de ce texte clandestin, produire une reception multiple, militante et efficace, un effet d'assemblée dirigé vers une action politique, tout en manifestant une véritable recherche formelle. Déployer l'espace particulier de la lecture dans l'espace mondain, déployer l'espace mondain dans l'espace politique actif, malgré la défaite, déployer l'espace clandestin des vaincus afin de dépasser le ressentiment par une action encore possible à partir d'une analyse des enjeux, de l'établissement des causes et des effets, enfin par l'évaluation des cibles à atteindre, telles semblent être les functions de ce texte militant et experimental qui fait de la performativité une sorte de doctrine esthétique."

BIET, CHRISTIAN, ed. Théâtre de la cruauté et récits sanglants en France (XVIe–XVIIe siècle). Paris: Robert Laffont, 2006.

Review: n. a. in BCLF 683 (2006), 96–97: "L'anthologie de C. Biet invite les lecteurs d'aujourd'hui, abreuvés d'horreur par les journaux télévisés et le cinéma, à considérer la part sombre de ceux qui vécurent avant eux. Elle rassemble sous une forme maniable des textes [1550–1660] qui n'étaient guère accessibles qu'aux spécialistes. . ."

BORGEOIS, MURIEL. "Des invraisemblances de la vraisemblance classique." RSH 280 4 (2005): 49–65.

Elucidates and complexifies the idea of "vraisemblance" in the 17th c. through a close examination of several period authors' views on relationship between historical truth and vraisemblance, looking in particular at Racine's historical inspirations for Phèdre.

BOURQUI, CLAUDE. "La transmission des sujets galants hispaniques à la scène française du XVIIe siècle: l'hypothèse sur le rôle du Grand Cyrus." PFSCL XXXIII, 64 (2006), 97–108.

Examines the hypothesis that Scudéry's Grand Cyrus may have played an intermediary role in the transmission of subjects from Spanish to French theatre. That role may have been either one of transformation (where the subject is transformed from its original) or incitation (that is, where Scudéry's treatment of a subject incites the French dramatist to return to the original Spanish subject).

BRETZ, MICHÈLE. "Le Combat des moniales de Port-Royal ou la primauté des droits de la conscience: leurs Relations de captivité." RF 117 (2005): 165–86.

Bretz's in-depth study provides a welcome and rich analysis of important documents both in the context of Jansenist spirituality and in the tradition of women's historiography and hagiography. Pluridisciplinary in their complexity, the documents necessitate criticism which reflects this character, taking into account along with "sentiment religieux", history of women (their writing, their autonomy), law, sociology, psychology and theology (184). Bretz's particularly well-documented analyses reveals a number of "constantes": "la communauté d'attitudes et de réaction des moniales face aux épreuves subies,. . . la force de leur lien spirituel,. . . le profond esprit de solidarité qui les animait, et la solidité de leurs convictions, leur forte personnalité, leur sensibilité et l'originalité et leur écriture" (185).

BRITNELL, JENNIFER & ANN MOSS, eds. Female Saints and Sinners / Saintes et mondaines (France 1250–1650). Durham: U of Durham (Durham Modern Language Series FM 21), 2002.

Review: n.a. in FMLS 41.1 (2005): 108–109: Wide-ranging and "liberally interpreted" examination of female saints and sinners. Focus is on early modern women and includes among the 17th c. essays, one on Madeleine de Scudéry's Clélie. Scholars of emblematics will welcome the chapters on women as subject and author of emblems.

BURY, EMMANUEL. "Les 《  réalités  》 de l'espace mondain et les conventions théâtrales." PFSCL XXXIII, 64 (2006), 147–159.

"Il conviendra de commencer par un bref rappel du caractère proprement théâtral des conventions qui régissent l'espace mondain, avant de rappeler quelques convergences entre univers scénique et espace mondain (notamment dans le cadre de l'évolution de la comédie), puis, dans un dernier temps de proposer quelques pistes pour l'exploration de l'univers sérieux présenté par la tragédie et la tragi-comédie."

CARABIN, DENISE. Les idées stoïciennes dans la littérature morale de XVIe et XVIIe siècles (1575–1642). Paris: Champion (Etudes sur la Renaissance, 51), 2004.

Review: D. Cecchetti in SFr no. 146 (2005): 409: Highly praised thèse, in particular for its rich material, systematic and complex structure, and multifaceted approach. Carabin's valuable work presents a precise picture of the evolution of stoic or neostoic ideas, indicating particularly important periods and representatives.

Review: U. Langer in Ren Q 58 (2005): 1345–46: In this vast study which "builds on the classic work of Léontine Zanta, Gerhard Oestreich, and Günter Abel, 17th c. scholars will appreciate discussions of Du Vair and Lipsius, Charron, and generally "the resonances of Stoicism. . . during the final years of Henri IV and the reign of Louis XIII" (1346). Langer notes several possible sources of confusion, yet recommends the study as "a useful if somewhat wandering guide" (1346). Index, bibliography.

CARLIN, CLAIRE & KATHLEEN WINE, eds. Theatrum Mundi: Studies in Honor of Ronald W. Tobin. Charlottsville: Rockwood Press, 2003.

Review: R. Whelan in FS 60.3 (2006), 392–393: This review of the 27 essays written in honor of Ronald Tobin praises the collection as a useful tool to undergraduates as well as stimulating reading for scholars in the field, with authors such as John Lyons, Larry Riggs, John Cloonan providing thought-provoking analyses. Given whom it is honoring, the essays not surprisingly cover larger figures such as Corneille, Racine and Molière. Overall, this is a very positive review.

CHARBONNEAU, FREDERIC. "Les Silences de l'histoire, les mémoires français au XVIIè siècle." Québec: Presses de l'université de Laval, 2000.

Review: D. de Garidel in RHLF 106.2 (2006), 435. This work is a study of memoirs as a literary genre in the seventeenth century and comments on a large corpus that starts out with the Renaissance. Charbonneau also examines questions of dissidence and marginality: "il étudie avec différents exemples les récits de dissidence — politique, plus rarement littéraire, ou encore religieuse. Un chapitre moins attendu éclaire le jeu de la marginalité et de la dissidence à l'oeuvre dans l'édition meme des différents mémoires."

CHARTIER, ROGER. "Genre between Literature and History." MLQ 67 (2006), 129–39.

Observes that the notion of genre has survived the influence of 20th-century literary theory movements and discusses the continued pertinence of notions of genre to New Historicism. Chartier describes the social energies and worldly contingencies that can inflect works' relation to genre and makes mention of Le Cid and the revision of its status as a "tragic-comédie."

CIVIL, PIERRE & DANIELLE BOILLET, eds. L'Actualité et sa mise en écriture aux XVe – XVIe et XVIIe siècles: Espagne, Italie, France et Portugal. Paris: Presse de la Sorbonne nouvelle, 2006.

Review: n.a. in BCLF 681 (2006), 111–12: Actes d'un colloque tenu à Paris en octobre 2000: "Les batailles de cette époque-nullement pacifiques-donnaient naissance à de longues chroniques rimées ou en prose et l'imprimerie leur assurait une diffusion inconnue jusqu'alors. Il est intéressant d'étudier, à travers des exemples choisis, la tension qui existait entre les événements d'une période donnée et leur transcription dans l'ordre de l'écrit."

CIVARDI, JEAN MARC, ed. La querelle du "Cid" (1637–38). Édition critique intégrale. Paris: Champion, 2004.

Review: D. Dalla Valle in SFr no. 146 (2005): 410: Considered an "opera assolutamente essenziale nella biblioteca di un secentista," Civardi's critical edition of 1216 pages contains in addition to the plays and pamphlets that constitute the querelle, a large introduction (250 pages, versus the 50 in the previous edition by Gasté). Rich notes, bibliography, glossary and linguistic observations complement the works themselves which include the Anatomie du Cid from the manuscript in the BNF.

CLÉMENT, BRUNO. "Écrire singulièrement au siècle des règles et du Dieu caché." Littérature 137 (mars 2005): 69–82.

Traces indications of the development of a notion of singularity in the passage from 17th century to the 18th, looking for the first signs of a preoccupation with uniqueness of expression. Authors cited include Guez de Balzac, Montaigne, Descartes, La Fontaine, Chapelain, Barbier Aucour, Corneille, Racine, La Bruyère, Guilleragues, and Rousseau.

CONLEY, JOHN J. The Suspicion of Virtue: Women Philosophers in Neoclassical France. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2002.

Review: E. Gilby in FS 59.4 (2005), 544–545: This generally negative review finds fault with Conley's work for its patronizing tone of "discovery" and "rehabilitation" in dealing with a subject (salon writing) which needs little or none, since much good research has been done on it recently. Conley's work does contain good biographies of Mme de Sablé, Mme Deshoulières, Mme de la Sablière, Mlle de la Vallière and Mme de Maintenon. That said, the work "barely scratches the surface of early-modern women's writing" and often fails to back up some of its claims.

COURT, MARC. "L'esprit et la bêtise dans 'La Lettre sur la reception de Lully aux Enfers' de Sénèque." CdDS 10.2 (2006), 95–106.

Explores "bêtise" in relation to claims of superiority and taste, as for example in music and poetry, but reveals how these claims actually reveal the opposite; i.e., absence of judgment, inflexibility, and rigidity of authors, poets, and musicians.

COURTES, NOEMIE. L'Ecriture de l'enchantement: magie et magiciens dans la littérature française du XVIIe siècle. Paris: Champion, 2004.

Review: D. Dalla Valle in SFr no. 145 (2005): 152–53: Although the panorama of this imposing work focuses on French texts, there is awareness of contacts with other European literatures in this volume which is found "particularmente curato, attento, ricco di riferimenti. . ." (152). Organized in three sections, Courtès's study includes an historical approach, discussion of genres "porteurs de magie," description, function and rhetoric relative to the subject. Although the reviewer takes issue with certain incongruities such as the consideration of Corneille's l'Illusion comique under the pastoral rather than comedy, she finds the study "molto utile per riempire un settore che non era mai stato così puntualmente e specificamente studiato" (153). Rich critical apparatus including an ample bibliography.

Review: S. O'Hara in FR 79 (2006), 832–33: An exploration of specifically literary magic (rather than actual practices of magic, or mentalities about them), Courtès' book approaches magic through the lenses of genre and literary history. Courtès also examines magician characters whose versatility and variability is emphasized. Praised by the reviewer.

COURTES, NOEMIE. "Sit Medea ferox invictaque — modèle et contre-modèle de la vengeance féminine au XVIIe siècle." PFSCL XXXIII, 65 (2006), 431–446.

Examines the myth and the representation of Medea. Concludes: "Médée incarne la vengeance et surtout la vengeance feminine car sa persona est à la fois la matrice de toutes les vengeresses — puisque, venant de la plus haute Antiquité, elle précède toutes les autres —, mais également leur point d'aboutissement — puisque c'est elle qui en vient à signifier la vengeance, l'hybris et le crime dans d'innombrables comparaisons qui l'érigent en antonomase."

DAUGE-ROTH, KATHERINE. "Crossing Lines, Encouraging Ownership: Teaching the Occult Early Modern." CdDS 10.2 (2006), 107–142.

This is a valuable resource for creating a class on Early Modern Literature that builds bridges between the past and the present. In addition to providing a comprehensive summary of her methodology, Dauge-Roth exposes some strategies implemented in her course that are created to make students more active inside and outside the classroom.

DAUVOIS, NATHALIE & JEAN-PHILIPPE GROSPERRIN, éds. Songes et songeurs (XIIIe–XVIIIe siècle). Ste. Foy: PU de Laval, 2003.

Review : B. C. Bowen in BHR 67.2 (2005), 479–81 : Fifteen articles chronologically ordered from a 1998–2000 seminar at the Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail and "addressed to very different readers; specialists in Medieval, Renaissance, Classical and Enlightenment literature, as well as in seventeenth- to eighteenth-century music and modern dream theory." See contributions by Y. Loskoutoff who treats "Jeanne Guyon's dream narratives addressed to Fénélon" and A. Gaillard who discusses "dreaming and enchantment at the end of the Classical period" in works of Descartes, Scipion Dupleix, and La Fontaine.

DAVIDSON, HILDA AND ANNA CHAUDHRI, eds. A Companion to the Fairy Tale. London: D. S. Brewer, 2003.

Review: E. Wanning Harries in Marvels & Tales 19.2 (2005), 319–322: Unlike Zipes's Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales, this one is less an encyclopedia and more a wide-ranging collection of essays—Harries refers to it as a "grab bag" approach—on both oral and written fairy tales. Harries finds it has "interesting moments" but lacks focus and clarity of position; generally it is less useful as a reference tool than the Oxford volume.

DAX, LIONEL. "Les Subtilités du goût. Vauvenargues/Voltaire Correspondance de 1743 à 1746. L'Infini. 93 (Winter 2005), 52–69.

Here, Dax introduces and republishes a selection of letters exchanged between Voltaire and his friend Vauvenargues. The subjects broached include a comparison of Corneille and Racine, especially as concerns the verbosity of Corneille's characters; a comparison of La Fontaine and Molière, with attention to Molière's choice of low subjects; and brief mentions of Bayle, Bossuet, Boileau, Pascal, and Fénelon.

DEELY, JOHN. "The Role of Thomas Aquinas in the Development of Semiotic Consciousness." Semiotica 152 1/4 (2004): 75–139.

Examines the role of Thomas Aquinas in the growth of semiotic consciousness among the Latins, dealt with systematically for the first time in John Poinsot's1632 Treatise on Signs. Author discusses Cartesian philosophy as in part responsible for Aquinas's oubli.

DENIS, DELPHINE. "Lire le nom propre de fiction au XVIIe siècle." Littérature 140 (décembre 2005): 83–94.

Author argues the interest of "socio-poétique" analysis of the question of the proper name in the 17th century through examples from a variety of authors (Furetière, Sorel, Mme de Villedieu, La Fontaine, l'abbé d'Aubignac). Demonstrates how proper names are susceptible of varied levels of readings, from the pedantic to the naïve, and authorize or institute reading protocols.

DIX-SEPTIEME SIECLE. Dix-septième siècle 222 (janvier-mars 2004).

Review: D. Dalla Valle in SFr 147 (2005): 632: Wide-ranging volume includes studies on the celebration of Louis XIII's marriage to Anne d'Autriche, absolutism and Louis XIV's memoirs, philosophy (Spinozian), baroque poetics (La Ceppède), geographical literature, and reliures (an account of the 2002 exhibit at the Musée Condé (Chantilly).

DOIRON, NORMAND. "Porcie, ou la tragédie du feu." Poétique 144 (2005): 413–428.

Portia, the daughter of Cato and wife of Brutus who commits suicide by swallowing hot coals, inspired early modern tragedies by Garnier, Guérin de Bouscal, and Boyer, which Doiron examines here in tandem. The article unpacks the plays' pervasive imagery of hell, smoke, and hazy vision to suggest that "Plus que nulle autre tragédie, peut-être, Porcie est la tragédie du feu, plus même que l'Andromaque de Racine" (421). Doiron also notes various ways in which the playwrights adapt the classical framework of Portia's story to their own Christian monarchical culture.

DUFLO, COLAS and LUC RUIZ, eds. De Rabelais à Sade: l'analyse des passions dans le roman à l'âge classique. Presses de l'Université de Saint-Etienne, 2003.

Review: V. de Senarclens in FS 59.3 (2005), 401–402: This book contains a dozen or so articles seeking to answer the question of whether there is a specifically romanesque treatment of human passions. In this somewhat negative review it is noted that the book's articles never really coalesce around the topic. This lack of cohesion is perhaps due to the large timeframe covered and a choice of materials focusing on the XVIIIth century, meaning the text doesn't live up to its promise in breadth or depth, though it contains some interesting materials on Rabelais, Montesquieu and Rousseau.

DUMORA, FLORENCE. L'œuvre nocturne. Songe et représentation au XVIIe siècle. Paris : Honoré Champion, 2005.

DUPRAT, ANNE. "Les trois formes du vraisemblable au XVIIe siècle." LC 2 (2004), 219–234.

A discussion of this all-important topic during the 17th century. Duprat identifies and elaborates on "trois domaines de rattachement de la vraisemblance, qui apparaissent tour à tour de façon privilégiée dans le discours théorique." They are: "la dimension référentielle," "dimension logique," and finally "une vraisemblance déterminée par la pensée ou par l'opinion de celui-ci: on peut donc la qualifier de gnomique ou de doxale."

EMELINA, JEAN. "Mondanité et libido: les charmes inavouvés du théâtre 《  sérieux  》." PFSCL XXXIII, 64 (2006), 109–123.

"Ce que nous voudrions montrer, c'est combien, sous sa forme la plus noble, la plus 《  honnête  》 et la plus pudique, [le théâtre] doit aussi son succès, de façon ouverte ou voilée, consciente ou inconsciente, moins à sa charge d'idéal qu'à sa charge de désirs. La question concerne les textes, mais, plus encore, les représentations et le monde de la comédie lui-même."

ERDMANN, EVA. "Le corps baroque. Du 'bizarre' et du 'comique.'" In Erdmann, Eva and Konrad Schoell, eds. Le comique corporel: Mouvement et comique dans l'espace théâtral du XVIIe siècle. Biblio 17 Number 163. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, 2006. 161–173.

The author examines the translation of seventeenth-century corporal comedy and physicality into a modern idiom. In order to capture the early-modern comic body, theatrical performances turn to the bizarre in order to recreate the comic impact of texts from the seventeenth century.

ESCOLA, MARC, ed. Nouvelles galantes du XVIIe siècle. Paris: Flammarion, 2004.

Review: C. Zonza in DSS 231 (2006), 351–352: A useful selection of six "fictions historiques de la seconde moitié du XVIIe siècle," found here in a pocket edition. Organized around the absent Princesse de Clèves, the texts are: La Princesse de Montpensier, La Comtesse de Tende de Mme de Lafayette, Dom Carlos de Saint-Réal, La Duchesse d'Estramène de Du Plaisir, Le Comte d'Amboise et Inès de Cordoue de Catherine Bernard.

ESCOLA, MARC. "'Une singularité d'esprit et conséquemment de style': De Montaigne à La Bruyère et de Pascal à Marivaux." Littérature 137 (mars 2005): 93–107.

"Marivaux' reasoning in the Sixth installment of Le Cabinet du philosophe shows that his equation of style and thought, which eliminates style altogether, is ultimately the logic of literary commentary-as is shown by Marivaux' commenting a La Rouchefoucauld maxim's wording as ultimately necessary to its meaning."

ESMEIN, CAMILLE, ed. "Poétiques du roman. Scudéry, Huet, Du Plaisir et autres textes théoriques et critiques du XVIIe siècle sur le genre romanesque." Paris: Champion, 2004.

Review: D. Dalla Valle in SFr no. 146 (2005): 411–12: This rich and stimulating anthology of principal 17th c. texts (including prefaces to novels) is well annotated. Esmein's introduction situates and defines the problem, and each text is furnished with a critical bibliography. The reviewer finds that while some aspects of this work may be open to criticism or discussion, it is overall an indispensable research tool.

Review: F. Greiner in DSS 231 (2006), 347–348: Destined to become a very useful reference book, Esmein has assembled a varied selection of textes: "épîtres, préfaces, extraits de fictions et traités dont l'abondance évoque moins une anthologie [...] qu'une de ces bibliothèques que les érudits du XVIIIe siècle consacrèrent autrefois au même genre." The collection, its annotation, and preface form something of a companion compendium to Esmein's thesis (L'Avènement d'une poétique romanesque au XVIIe siècle: Discours théorique et constitution d'un genre littéraire (1641–1683)).

Review: G. Peureux in RHLF 106.2 (2006), 426–427. "Cette anthologie. . . contient notamment d'utiles indices des noms, des romans et des notions, ainsi qu'une bibilographie analytique des sources utilisées. Chaque extrait ou texte intégral contenu. . . est introduit, ses enjeux théoriques sont mis en évidence et la bibliographie récente en est signalée." Some shortcomings concerning "la périodisation. . . [qui est] coupée au cordeau."

FERREYROLLES, GERARD, ed. "Littérature et histoire au XVIIè siècle." Dalhousie French Studies 65, 2003.

Review: B. Guion in RHLF 106.2 (2006), 436–438. Anthology containing individual contributions. The articles united here deal with the writing of history, by looking at a variety of genres. Particular focus is devoted to d'Aubigné, Nicole, Varillas, Boursault, La Bruyère and du Fossé. "Il s'en degage une réflexion sur l'écriture de l'histoire qui fait apparaître des tensions récurrentes, entre le vrai et le vraisemblable, entre l'utilité et l'agrément, entre l'histoire publique et l'histoire privée."

FRANKO, MARK. "La théàtralité de Louis XIII et Louis XIV dans leurs rôles travestis aux ballets de cour du XVIIe siècle." LC 2 (2004), 201–213.

"Cette étude vise à porter au jour l'ambiguïté des positions fluctuantes de la présence du roi sur scène. Tous les rôles qu'il incarne sont en effet scindés. Il en résulte que le roi apparaît comme une figure du neutre et de l'indifférence qui, elle, fonctionne comme principe de la conjonction des contraires."

FRISCH, ANDREA. "French Tragedy and the Civil Wars." MLQ 67 (2006), 287–312.

Describes the 16th-century use of tragedy and theatrical metaphors as commentary on the political calamities of the era, then notes the disappearance of explicit connections between contemporary history and tragedy in the early 17th century. Identifies the new neoclassical aesthetics of pleasure as part of a national work of forgetting the nation's past and present religious strife. "Royal legislation commanding the French to obliterate memories of the wars helped shape the aesthetics of seventeenth-century French tragedy in subtle but central ways" (288).

FUDGE, ERICA, ed. Renaissance Beasts: Of Animals, Humans, and Other Wonderful Creatures. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 2004.

Review: B. Boehrer in Ren Q 58 (2005): 286–88: Finds the volume which focuses on England and France "essential reading" and "a nice compendium of animal-related work at its best-and perhaps at its silliest as well" (286). Of particular interest to 17th c. scholars is Peter Harrison's "informative analysis of the early modern culture of animal experimentation and Matthew Senior's. . . discussion of the French royal menagerie from 1662 to 1792" (286).

FUMAROLI, MARC. Exercices de lecture. De Rabelais à Paul Valéry. Paris : Gallimard, 2006.

Review : M. Crépu in RDM (avril 2006), 159–60 : 《 . . .au sujet de Pascal, dont Fumaroli montre bien comment il cherche un chemin à mi-distance du cartésianisme strict et du mobile montaignesque, ne se résumant nullement à cette raideur janséniste où l'on a voulu le tenir enfermée.  》

GAILLARD, AURELIA. Le Corps des statues: le vivant et son simulacre à l'âge classique (de Descartes à Diderot). Paris : Champion, 2003.

Review: J. Gilroy in FR 80 (2006), 209–10: Explores the uses and meanings of statues in period fiction and philosophical writing. Fantastical genres like the fable and the fairy tale, as well as a host of works drawing on the Pygmalion story, draw on statues' mythology of animation. The Commander statue in versions of the Don Juan story is contextualized in terms of the pagan belief that statues held hidden gods. Turning to philosophy, Gaillard suggests that "even for the rational mindset of the Enlightenment, the statue retains some of its mystical aura" (209). Philosophers used the figure of the statue to explore human body-mind relations and the role and hierarchy of the senses. The work is praised by the reviewer.

Review: M. Percival in FS 59.4 (2005), 543–544: This work garners a very positive review for its comprehensive exploration of statues (real and imagined), dolls, automatons, puppets, and even fairies and sylphids. This book is a "cornucopia" of period sources that engages primary and secondary literatures. Gaillard's interpretations of works by Molière, Thomas Corneille and a multitude of lesser-known authors, are "fascinating" and "perceptive." Overall, this is an "intelligent contribution to studies of the body in the classical period."

GANIM, RUSSELL. "Going Through the Trash: Meaning in the Cabaret and Cabinet Baroque Lyric." In Beasley, Faith E. & Kathleen Wine, eds. Intersections. Actes du 35e congrès annuel de la North American Society for Seventeenth-Century French Literature, Dartmouth College, 8–10 mai 2003. Biblio 17 Number 161. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, 2005. 307–315.

The "trash culture" of cabaret and cabinet poetry which privilege "the ribald, the scatological, and the grossly erotic" articulate an alternative discourse on sexuality, gender, and literature. This counter-culture also allows us to recognize the interaction between "high" and "low" cultural forms in early-modern France.

GELY, VERONIQUE. L'Invention d'un mythe: Psyché: allégorie et fiction du siècle de Platon au temps de La Fontaine. Paris: Honoré Champion, 2006.

Review: n. a. in BCLF 682 (2006), 60–60: Gély "examine la naissance et la fortune de Psyché, jusqu'au Grand Siècle inclusivement (La Fontaine, mais également Molière et Corneille)." On trouve ce "travail comparatiste admirablement maîtrisé" mais regrette "la présence de références bibliographiques parfois étranges."

GENETIOT, ALAIN. "Le classicisme." Paris: PUF, 2005.

Review: M. Fumaroli in RHLF 106.3 (2006), 719–722. The reviewer recognizes the impact of this informative study on Classicism that has been preceded by determining works, yet offers a new perspective. A lot of discussion is devoted to the concept of "classicism" itself with a minor regret that Génetiot does not clarify his individual perspective on this seminal term. Fumaroli also stresses the underlying influence of René Bray's work on the "doctrine classique" for this study.

Review: M. Sweetser in FR 79 (2006), 1058–1059: Tries to move away from a view of classicism as a normative and restrictive formal movement, an aesthetics of absolute monarchy. Instead, Génetiot presents "la synthèse classique. . . comme un juste temperament, un miracle d'équilibre" (1059), emphasizing writers' embrace of the "je ne sais quoi" and of fabulous subject matter in the genre of the fairy tale, as well as their attempts at artistic naturalism and grace. "L'auteur a nettement perçu que la notion de classicisme ne se réduisait pas à une liste de règles. . . Il existe des classicismes du vingtième siècle et nous parlerons bientôt de ceux du vingt-et-unième" (1059).

GENETTI, STEFANO. Saperla corta. Forme brevi sentenziose e letteratura francese. Fasano: Schena, 2002.

Review: W. Helmich in RF 117 (2005): 498–502: Comprehensive and knowledgeable, Genetti's study of "formes brèves" helpfully indicates various characteristics, offers an important historical survey of French sentential texts from the Middle Ages through the 20th c., and indicates numerous forms and subgenres. The masterful examination is completed by an exhaustive bibliography and an index of names.

GHEERAERT, TONY. Le Chant de la grâce: Port Royal et la poésie d'Arnauld d'Andilly à Racine. Paris: Champion, 2003.

Review: R. Parish in FS 60.1 (2006), 103–104: The reviewer very positively notes Gheeraert's ability to bring Port-Royal's accomodation of poetry into a critical framework. The author likewise demonstrates an evolution of poetics using the writings of d'Andilly, de Sacy, La Fontaine, and Racine. This "magistral" work, reveals Port-Royal to be a microcosm of poetic creation across many different creative traditions.

GODENNE, RENE. "Place de la nouvelle du XVIIe siècle dans une histoire du genre" RF 117 (2005): 344–51:

Traces convincingly the large and important place of the "nouvelle" or "histoire" ("un parfait synonyme," 345) both in the Grand Siècle and in the history of the genre. The nouvelle is seen as a "petit roman" with its "exposition lente, détaillée, récit in medias res, retours en arrière, intrigue fondée sur une succession d'aventures, plusieurs intrigues menées de front, récits intercalés sans rapport avec l'intrigue de base, etc." (346). Godenne challenges the critics: " Si l'histoire de la nouvelle du XVIIe siècle n'a été mise à jour que depuis peu, est-ce raison pour l'ignorer, l'occulter ainsi?" (347). Godenne enumerates several benefits of examining the 17th c. nouvelle in the perspective of a general history of the genre and provides a selective bibliography of recent publications, both collections of nouvelles and works of criticism.

GOLDSMITH, ELIZABETH C. & COLETTE H. WINN, eds. Lettres de femmes: textes inédits et oubliés du XVIe au XVIIIe siècle. Paris : Honoré Champion, 2005.

Review : W. Brooks in MLR 101.3 (2006), 846: "The enterprise deserved firmer general editorial control but the letters themselves are riveting and the anthology will be an essential primer until overtaken by the fuller individual studies of these women's eloquent correspondence that Elizabeth C. Goldsmith and Colette H. Winn presumably intended to provoke."

GOSSIP, C. J. 《  The Orateur in Seventeenth-Century French Theatre Companies.  》 MLR 101.3 (2006), 691–700 :

Treatment of Book III of Samuel Chappuzeau's 1674 work, Le Théâtre françois, on the nature and functions of the orateur. Gossip acknowledges the scholarly analysis of William Brooks on Chappuzeau yet takes exception to some of his conclusions and finds Chappuzeau's treatment of the three main theatre companies and their orateurs "to be more balanced that Brooks would have us believe."

GOULET, ANNE-MADELEINE. Poésie, musique et sociabilité au XVIIe siècle. Les Livres d'airs de différents auteurs publiés chez Ballard de 1658 à 1694. Paris: Honoré Champion, coll. "Lumière classique", 2004.

Review: A. Génetiot in PFSCL XXXIII, 64 (2006), 287–289. "Avec son érudition minutieuse qui fait la synthèse de la recherche récente et son sens aigu de la formule précise, la monographie d'A.-M. Goulet [. . .] ouvre donc à la recherche un champ nouveau qui complète les études littéraires et sociologiques existantes en articulant les deux domaines de la musicologie et de la littérature au sein de l'histoire de la civilisation mondaine."

Review: M. Pavesio in SFr no. 146 (2005): 412–13: Goulet's rich study, a refinement of her 2002 thèse directed by Christian Biet, is part of Champion's Lumière Classique collection, directed by Philippe Sellier. A forthcoming publication also chez Champion will furnish a catalogue of the 1,220 aria which are the basis of Goulet's study. Multifaceted, Goulet's work includes sections on the material aspects of the collection, its public, generic considerations, social and cultural contexts. Goulet's careful analyses are completed by a rich critical apparatus: biographical and bibliographical notices, three indexes and an imposing bibliography of over 100 pages.

Review: A. Stedman in FR 79 (2006), 182–83 : Addressing a collection of "airs sérieux" whose publication directly coincided with the rise and fall of the aesthetic of galanterie, Goulet's work expands our knowledge of music's participation in this aesthetic and the world of mondanité. Although Goulet admirably utilizes recent French scholarship on salon culture and worldly sociability, the reviewer regrets her oversight of important contextualizing American criticism (Dejean, Seifert) which could have been helpful.

GROVE, LAURENCE. Emblematics and 17th Century French Literature: Descartes, Tristan, La Fontaine, and Perrault. Charlottesville, VA: Rookwood Press, 2002.

Review: U. Winter in RF 117 (2005): 392–94: Emblematics is considered not only as a cultural phenomenon of the 17th c., but, through close case studies, can offer us a new understanding of classical culture itself. Grove's rich study is informed by theoretical perspectives ranging from philology to cultural studies, and is indebted to M. Praz and to D. Russell's works on imagery and emblematic structures. After a section on the overarching place of emblematics in areas such as education, religion, life at court and everyday, Grove examines the emblematic substrata chez Descartes and La Fontaine, Tristan and Perrault, and indicates future avenues of investigation.

GUENANCIA, PIERRE. "Passions et représentations dans la conception cartésienne des passions." LC 2 (2004), 31–50.

HEADRICK, ASHLEY. "Images of Women Mentoring Women in French Literature 1650–1750." DAI 67/02 (2006), 579.

"This study considers the representation of ways in which female characters help one another in prose and plays written in France between 1650 and 1750." Offers an analysis of the concept of mentoring, as applied to mother-daughter relationships and friendships. Explores how women negotiate obstacles during the Ancien Régime.

HENIN, EMMANUELLE. "《  Pyrrhus n'avait pas lu nos romans  》 : le héros tragique à l'épreuve de la galanterie (1666–1676)." PFSCL XXXIII, 64 (2006), 63–83.

Sets out to understand "comment Racine a pu être assimilé à un auteur galant, puis la stratégie qu'il oppose à cette accusation, et enfin les moyens qu'il déploie pour dépasser la tragédie galante, culminant dans une lecture inédite de la catharsis aristotélicienne."

HENIN, EMMANUELLE. Ut pictura theatrum. Théâtre et peinture de la Renaissance italienne au classicisme français. Genève: Droz, 2003.

Review: A.-E. Spica in DSS 230 (2006), 177–179: "Point d'ut pictura poesis sans un ut pictura theatrum originaire, dans lequel seul s'ancre toute réflexion théorique sur la poétique et les beaux-arts: [...] A travers un corpus aussi impressionnant que cohérent, celui des théoriciens italiens puis français de la peinture et du théâtre, qui n'avait encore jamais fait l'objet d'une étude des deux points de vue conjugués, E. Hénin éclaire deux siècles capitaux pour l'histoire occidentale des représentations comme de la représentation."

HÖFER, BERNADETTE. "'I Feel, Therefore I Am': Psychosomatic manifestations in seventeenth-century French literature." DAI 66/11 (2006), 4041.

The mind-body correlation in Surin, Molière, Racine, and Lafayette, based on the philosophical discourses of the seventeenth century. Attending to the theme of illness, this study explores the philosophical, medical and socio-political significance of seventeenth-century mind/body debate from a clear interdisciplinary perspective. Investigation that suggests a continuum of mind/body understanding from the classical period through the present day.

HOWE, ALAN, ed. A partir des analyses de MADELEINE JURGENS. Archives nationales: documents du Minutier central des notaires de Paris. Ecrivains de théâtre 1600–1649. Paris : Centre historique des Archives nationales, coll. 《 Documents de Minutier central des notaires de Paris 》, 2005.

Review : M. Bombart in CTH XXVIII (2006) , 101–103.: 《  Le livre se compose de deux grandes parties : dans la première, des 《 notices et analyses 》 rangés par ordre alphabétique d'auteur (de Baro à Villiers) présentent une synthèse des informations apportées par les documents, suivie d'un résumé de chaque pièce retrouvée. Dans la seconde, on trouve, organisée cette fois selon ordre chronologique, la transcription intégrale des actes les plus intéressants du Minutier. A la suite, une 《 table des analyses 》 (par ordre chronologique), une bibliographie et un index des noms de personnes permettant un maniement aisé du volume.  》 Reviewer notes that 《  la richesse du volume [est] incontestable 》 (102).

Review : C. Gossip in MLR 101.4 (2006), 1113–1114 : 《  This volume is a valuable complement to Alan Howe's Le Théâtre professionnel à Paris 1600–1649, published in the same series in 2000. . .. Whereas that book refined and greatly expanded our knowledge of theatre buildings, companies, actors, and actresses in the first half of the seventeenth century, the present inventaire-étude exploits 172 notarial deeds in the Minutier central relating to twenty-five dramatists of the period."

JEANNERET, MICHEL. Eros rebelle. Littérature et dissidence à l'âge classique. Paris: Seuil, 2003.

Review: M. Richter in SFr no. 145 (2005): 153–54: Judged a "bel libro," Jeanneret fulfills his stated intention to "faire une promenade dans quelques quartiers mal famés" (qtd by Richter, n.p.). Rich in perspectives (manuals of anatomy, as well as literary texts are examined), Jeanneret affirms that "le XVIIe siècle atteint, dans l'humiliation de la créature et la crainte de faillir, un point culminant' (J. 100). Scholars of Béroalde, Théophile, Ninon de Lenclos, Molière, among others will find much value in Jeanneret's vigorous and persuasive reflections, in particular his conclusion which finds in Molière's Don Juan "l'esemplarità di tutta un'epoca variamente attraversata da un 'éros rebelle.'"

JUNOD, SAMUEL, FLORIAN PREISIG & FREDERIC TINGUELY, éds. La Littérature engagée aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles. Etudes en l'honneur de Gérard Defaux (1937–2004). MLN 120.1 Italian Supplement Issue (2005).

Review : C. Skenazi in BHR 67.2 (2005), 771–73 : Dix essais tous d'étudiants de Defaux. Les éditeurs 《  notent la nature anachronique du terme et de la notion sartrienne d'engagement durant la période envisagée et précisent les conditions socio-politiques qui déterminent l'action d'un écrivain de ce temps : le système du mécénat, le rôle du libraire-imprimeur, l'absence de sphère publique.  》 Voir les contributions de D. Brancher qui examine 《  la façon dont le tempérament caractérise la personnalité styliqtique d'auteurs du début du dix-septième siècle  》 et d'A. Clerc 《  sur l'ambiguïté comme forme d'engagement dans les genres pastoral et utopique.  》

KENNY, NEIL. The Uses of Curiosity in Early Modern France and Germany. Oxford: OUP, 2004.

Review: P. Bayley in MLR 101.2 (2006), 619–20: Work of significant "chronological and linguistic range" that is "destined to become a classic in the field of early modern European intellectual history." Kenny "interprets and illuminates not simply the organization of knowledge in the early modern world, but the neuroses that controlled that organization of knowledge."

Review: E. Peters in Ren Q 58 (2005): 675–76: Finds Kenny's work "the best study of the meaning and uses of the term and the variety of ways by which it was understood and deployed in sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe" (675–76). Finds Kenny to be a "remarkably learned and intelligent guide through what he calls 'a semantic swamp'" and judges that the study has broad implications for the intellectual history of modern Europe. Sweeping through an "enormous number and variety of sources," the study is organized into three sections: institutions, discursive tendencies and sex/gender (676). Index, illustrations, tables, maps, bibliography.

KNAPP, BETTINA L. French Fairy Tales: A Jungian Approach. SUNY Series in Psychoanalysis and Culture. New York: SUNY UP, 2003.

Review: P. Hamon in FR 79 (2005), 400–01. Although by no means limited to consideration of the 17th century, Knapp's book examines two tales by Perrault and one by d'Aulnoy. The author's analysis is rooted in Jungian notions of the collective unconscious and archetypes, considering tales as mirrors of "individuation. . . the psychological processes involved in acquiring an integrated personality" (401).

KOLBOOM, INGO, THOMAS KOTSCHI & EDWARD REICHEL, eds. Handbuch Französisch. Sprache-Literatur-Kultur-Gesellschaft. Für Studium, Lehre, Praxis. Berlin: Erich Schmidt, 2002.

Review: B. Kuhn in RF 117 (2005): 75–79: Recommended, if at times judged perfunctory, this compendium focuses less on literary history than on linguistics and scholarship relating to culture and the nation.

LACHAUX-LEFEBVRE, DANY. Le Discours dans le spectacle en musique de 1661 à 1686. Des comédies de divertissements de Molière aux tragédies lyriques de Quinault. Tübingen: Narr, 2002.

Review: H. Schneider in RF 117 (2005): 105–06: Both literary and linguistic perspectives inform Lachaux-Lefebvre's study which examines, in comparison, Molière's "comédies de divertissements" (with singing and dancing) with Quinault's "tragédies en musique." Methodological orientation follows Leo Spitzer and includes three sections: 1) "Un discours spectaculaire bref, et l'inventio rhétorique", 2) "Un discours spectaculaire amoureux et les dispositio et elocutio rhétoriques" (the most extensive section), and 3) didascalies and implicit qualities.

LALLEMAND, MARIE-GABRIELLE & CHANTAL LIATOURZOS, éds. De la Grande Rhétorique à la poésie galante : l'exemple des poètes caennais aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles. Caen : PU de Caen, 2004.

Review : A. Cullière in BHR 67.2 (2005), 535–37 : 《  Comme le rappelle l'introduction de ce volume d'actes [les 8–9 mars 2002 à l'Université de Caen Basse-Normandie], il s'agissait de 'situer les pratiques poétiques dans le contexte de la vie culturelle, intellectuelle, sociale et politique du temps.' Dix contributions ont été présentées, regroupées ici chronologiquement et concernant aussi bien les perspectives historiques que les modalités de l'écriture.  》 Parmi les auteurs figurent Malherbe (G. Mathieu-Castellani et F. Bauer), Brébeuf (S. Guellouz), Sarasin (J.-F. Castille), Jean Bertaut, Madeleine de Scudéry, Fontenelle, (M.-G. Lallemand).

LAVOCAT, FRANÇOISE. La Syrinx au bûcher: Pan et les satyres à la Renaissance et à l'âge baroque. Geneva: Droz, 2005.

Review: F. Rigolot in SCN 64 (2006), 86–89: Favourably reviewed as a "well-researched and amply documented book with numerous illustrations on [...] the representation of the figure of Pan and the satyr [...] from the end of the 15th century to the first third of the 17th in several European countries," the author is thought to have surpassed previous studies of the subject in scope and intellectual ambition, analysing the "ubiquitous theme in a variety of cultural media, including lyric poetry, narrative, essay, drama, dance, opera, and iconography." The reviewer remarks that the author's treatment of pastoral literature will be of particular interest to 17th c. specialists.

LAVOCAT, FRANÇOISE, ed. Usages et théories de la fiction: Le débat contemporain à l'épreuve des textes anciens (XVI–XVIIIe siècles). Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2004.

Review: V. Krause in Fr F 30 (2005): 143–45: Praiseworthy for its coherence despite its adoption of "a variety of approaches from law and literature to the history of ideas" (145). Judged "innovative" and "rigorous", contributors "directly engage" Jean-Marie Schaeffer's 1999 study Pourquoi la fiction, noteworthy for its anthropological perspective. Essays examine linguistic theory, legal and literary practices of fictionality and early modern works themselves. 17th c. scholars will particularly appreciate Laurence Giavarini's study of "libertine uses of fiction. . . in Théophile de Viau's trial and Molière's Dom Juan" (145).

LESTRINGANT, F., B. NERAUDAU, D. PORTE, & J.-C. TERNAUX, eds. Liber Amicorum. Mélanges sur la littérature antique et moderne à la mémoire de Jean-Pierre Néraudau. Paris : Honoré Champion, 2005.

Review : P. Hummel in BHR 68.2 (2006), 379–80 : Pour le XVIIe siècle, voir les contributions de L. Zilli (《  Le sanglier de Calydon (Mét., 8), récritures théâtrales aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles  》) ; G. Forestier (《  Devoir et passion dans la tragédie française : de Chimène à Phèdre  》) ; G. Conesa (《  Rien de trop  》 sur Molière).

LEVORATO, ALESSANDRA. Language and Gender in the Fairy Tale Tradition: A Linguistic Analysis of Old and New Story Telling. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

Review: J. Jorgensen in Marvels & Tales 19.2 (2005), 316–319: Uses linguistic strategies to examine the diverse ideologies present in twelve different versions of Little Red Riding Hood, including an earlier French oral variation.

LICHA-ZINCK, ALEXANDRA. "La vengeance, une vertu dramatique dans la construction du caractère féminin tragique au XVIIe siècle?" PFSCL XXXIII, 65 (2006), 459–468.

Across a wide range of plays, examines the tensions "entre les auteurs qui rusent. . . avec les enjeux dramatiques et les buts moraux du théâtre, les théoriciens qui sont partisans de la vertu récompensée et les ennemis du théâtre qui débusquent les mensonges et la perversion morale des dramaturges corrompant le public."

LIM, CHAE-KWANG. "L'idéal de l'autonomie esthéthique de l'écriture dramatique à l'époque classique." RHLF 106.1 (2006), 17–36.

This article analyzes "l'idée classique de l'intelligence dramatique" by comparing text, representation and reception. The first part of the study deals with the evolution of the hierarchical relationship between the verbal and the visual inside the dramatic text. The second part moves toward questions of reception and perception by the audience.

LONGINO, MICHELE. Orientalism in French Classical Drama. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2002.

Review: D. Fricke in RF 117 (2005): 261–65: Rich and erudite "cross-reading" of history and literature focusing on "the high point of the Orientalist obsession in French classical theatre—Corneille, Racine and Molière (149). Important for scholars of "mentalités," Longino's study demonstrates without hesitation that the theatre of the "trinity of French High Culture" (5) is "the locus of a massive misinformation campaign, a devious way of setting the charter for 'Frenchness'" (222).

LOPEZ, DENIS. "Le théâtre à l'Hôtel de Rambouillet." PFSCL XXXIII, 64 (2006), 239–268.

"L'Hôtel de Rambouillet a-t-il joué un rôle d'accompagnement dans [le renouveau théâtral de la période 1633–1640]? Y avait-il là une véritable prescience des réactions du public? Au-délà, se trouve-t-on devant un phénomène d'appui aux innovations et aux évolutions du goût? Y a-t-il un 《  style Rambouillet  》 en matière de théâtre. . .? Bref, cette chambre du bon goût a-t-elle eu des prérogatives critiques et en retour cela a-t-il pu avoir quelque incidence sur la création?"

LOUVAT-MOLOZAY, BENEDICTE. Théâtre et musique. Dramaturgie de l'insertion musicale dans le théâtre français (1550–1680). Paris: Champion, 2002.

Review: J-Y Vialleton in RF 117 (2005): 108–11: Provides a comprehensive historical study of the use of music in classical theatre and is organized in three sections: 1) "Les lieux du discours théorique", 2) "Modèles anciens et pratiques modernes, 1550–1650", and 3) "L'âge des possibles: théâtre en musique et théâtre avec musique, 1650–1680". Praised both as a "synthèse copieuse" and for the ease with which it may be consulted, Louvat-Molozay's rich volume offers numerous avenues of reflections. Index of names and titles of plays, table describing the 200 plays of her corpus.

LYONS, JOHN D. Before Imagination: Embodied Thought from Montaigne to Rousseau. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2005.

Review: C. Kerr in Choice 43 (2006), 1020: Lyons explores the early modern meanings of imagination, which was primarily understood as a mental re-creation of something seen or experienced in the world, rather than as a specifically creative faculty. The work undertakes a history of imagination from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment, and explores various writers' engagement with this practice/notion. Includes treatment of Montaigne, François de Sales, Descartes, Pascal, Sévigné, La Fayette, Fénélon, and Rousseau. Recommended by the reviewer.

MABER, RICHARD G. Publishing in the Republic of Letters. The Menage-Grævius-Wetstein Correspondence, 1679–1692. Amsterdam/New York: Rodopi, 2005.

Review: G. Banderier in PFSCL XXXIII, 64 (2006), 300–302. "Chacune des soixante-dix lettres est éditée avec le plus grand soin, en mentionnant les ratures, les ajouts interlinéaires ou marginaux. Un résumé succinct, en anglais, accompagne chaque missive, les notes bien conçues éclairent les allusions." Reviewer impressed with the quality of the edition.

Review: L. Cruz in SCN 63 (2005), 180–182: The author examines a very specific correspondence on the editing and publication for French consumption of Ménage's Diogenes Laertius by Dutch printer Henrik Wetstein. The reviewer finds that "the letters, reprinted in their original French, constitue a valuable case study which sheds considerable light on the inter-workings of the Dutch publishing trade as well as the social and professional milieu of prominent European scholars on the eve of the Enlightenment." At the same time, however, the reviewer feels the narrow focus on a single book limits its "wider applicability."

MACE, STEPHANE. L'Eden perdu: pastorale dans la poésie de l'âge baroque. Lumière Classique 38. Paris: Champion, 2002.

Review: R. Corum in FR 79 (2006), 161–62: Addressing a vast, multi-faceted genre (one whose parameters Macé sometimes struggles define) the work attempts to rehabilitate the pastoral. The work's analysis "sees in the pastoral two major unifying threads reflecting the diverse ideological preoccupations of a turbulent historical period: a nostalgia for the delights of an imaginary Golden Age, and more realistically, longing and regret at losing this paradise at the Fall" (162).

Review: D. Nelting in RF 117 (2005): 396–99: Extensive and precise, Macé's work is a welcome, informative and stimulating examination which illuminates "plusieurs principes de création caractéristiques de l'esthétique baroque" and demonstrates the "émergence d'un nouveau type de sensibilité." Organization includes sections on the following: "Héritage," "Un genre protéiforme," and "La Pastorale et l'univers baroque: horizons esthétiques" (397–98).

MAGUIRE, MATTHEW W. The Conversion of Imagination: From Pascal through Rousseau to Tocqueville. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006.

Review: B. Murchland in Choice 44 (2006), 495: Outlines a history of imagination's ascent such that it came to be perceived as a powerful and crucial mental faculty. Maguire figures Pascal as a thinker who "radicalizes the inner, initial logic of the self's constitution, so that the imagination becomes not the licensed agent of self constitution, but its very ground, from which the direction of reason and the desire for temporal happiness can and often do emanate" (395, quoting Maguire).

MARCHAL-NINOSQUE, FRANCE. Images du sacrifice 1670–1840. Paris: Honoré Champion, 2005.

Review: M. Chihaia in OeC 31.1 (2006), 171–74: "Le présent ouvrage, qui traite du thème du sacrifice dans la période qui sépare l'Iphigénie de Racine et la Lucrèce de Ponsard, invite à une double lecture, en suivant les analyses détaillées autant que l'approche synthétique qu'il offre de la question."

MAZOUER, CHARLES, ed. L'animal au XVIIe siècle. Actes de la première journée d'études du Centre de recherches sur le XVIIe siècle européen (1600–1700). Université Michel de Montaigne-Bordeaux III. Tübingen: Gunter Narr, Biblio 17, no. 146 (2003).

Review: T. Allott in FS 59.4 (2005), 540–541: Though the reviewer finds the title too general to actually reflect the proceedings of a one-day conference, he signals his approval of this collection of papers dealing with animals in art and literature in France. There is a helpful survey of attitudes leading up to the seventeenth-century's prejudices against animals, and a detailed study of Adrian Collaert's engravings. An interesting piece on Mlle de Scudéry's pet chamelon, Méléon, provides insights into her anti-materialism also makes it into this volume, according to this overall positive review.

Review: L. Rescia in SFr no. 146 (2005): 413–414: This volume, reflecting the ambitions of a new center of research, focuses on the animal in 17th c. literature and art. Ranging from the general to the particular, the animal is appreciated and analyzed in its numerous connections with, for example, theology, mythology, philosophy, politics, the salons, and Versailles.

MAZOUER, CHARLES. "Le jeu avec les objets dans le Scenario de Domenico Biancoletti." In Erdmann, Eva and Konrad Schoell, eds. Le comique corporel: Mouvement et comique dans l'espace théâtral du XVIIe siècle. Biblio 17 Number 163. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, 2006. 85–99.

The body of the comic actor is brought to the fore through his use and manipulation of objects which are often the source of comic effects. The author examines clothing as well as other objects that transcend utility and become comic accessories in Biancoletti's Scenario.

MECHOULAN, ERIC. Le livre avalé : De la littérature entre mémoire et culture. Montreal: Presses de l'Université de Montréal, 2006.

Awarded the Prix Raymond-Klibansky du meilleur ouvrage de langue française en sciences humaines, December 2006. Publisher's Summary: "La littérature telle que nous l'entendons aujourd'hui date du Siècle des lumières. Auparavant, les constellations sociales où brillent les oeuvres étaient tout autres ; on était loin, en particulier, d'une évidente autonomie, telle qu'elle apparaît constitutive de la sphère littéraire à partir de 1850. Comment alors concevoir la littérature quand elle n'est pas autonome ? Qu'est-ce que 《  la littérature d'avant la littérature  》 ? Selon quelles cristallisations historiques l'art des oeuvres d'écriture s'est-il transformé ?"

MENIEL, BRUNO. Renaissance de l'épopée épique en France de 1572 à 1623. Genève: Droz, 2004.

Review: D. Bjaï in BHR 67.3 (2005), 796–98: ". . .un travail de recherche extrêmement riche, qui s'appuie sur le dépouillement d'un nombre impressionnant de textes: un corpus d'environ quatre-vingts poèmes en français (répertoriés dans la première section de la bibliographie, p. 513–521), pour la plupart méconnus ou inconnus. Br. Méniel les cite abondamment et les commente avec bonheur. . .."

Review: D. Cecchetti in SFr no. 146 (2005): 408–409: Praiseworthy for its clarity and wealth of material, Méniel's study examines successively the theory and pratice of the epic from classical Antiquity through the Italian Renaissance (33–250), the "éclatement" of the epic (253–425) and finally a tentative explanation for the flowering emphasizing philosophy, history and esthetics (429–500).

Review: G. Ferguson in MLR 101.2 (2006), 535–36: Revised doctoral thesis directed by D. Ménager examines the theory and practice of l'epos in the first section, presents a typology of the corpus of works reviewed in the second section, and concludes by "examining the epic in relation to different philosophies of history (Fortune vs. Destiny, etc.) and ethics (Aristotelian magnanimity and heroic virtue; Stoical self-mastery), where differences between Protestant and Catholic attitudes are delineated with care."

Review: K. Wine in Ren Q 58 (2005): 615–16: Judged a "rewarding book that amply justifies its attention to a much-belittled genre," this study is "both exhaustive in its scholarship and richly suggestive in its treatment of individual poems and broader patterns" (616). The terminus ad quem of 1623 is due to Chapelain's introduction into French of the word épopée at that date. Although Wine offers some suggestions for improving this study (a clearer indication of the "broad outlines of the argument," the inclusion of secondary works in "the otherwise excellent bibliography"), she concludes by praising both the depth and complexity of Méniel's treatment.

MERTZ-WEIGEL, DOROTHEE. "From Jean de Meun to Molière, via Montaigne, Descartes, Rotrou and Corneille." DAI 66/05 (2005), 1756.

Depiction of melancholy over three centuries via literary and medical texts. Intends to study the transformation of the concept. The authors examined "use melancholy to understand, define, represent, in other words, to figure human nature, and examine human weakness at a deeper level than does any other disease." Also investigates laughter and entertainment as forms of treatment.

MOMBELLO, GIANNI and PAOLA CIFARELLI, eds. La Correspondance d'Albert Bailly, volume 5, années 1654–1655. Aoste: Académie Saint-Anselme, 2003.

Review: P. Wolfe in PFSCL XXXIII, 65 (2006), 583–584. "L'érudition de cette correspondance est impeccable par sa présentation et par son érudition. Elle sera précieuse pour les spécialistes de l'histoire diplomatique, aussi bien que pour les historiens des ordres religieux et de la cour de France."

MONCOND'HUY, DOMINIQUE. Histoire de la littérature française du XVIIe siècle. Paris: Champion, 2005.

Review: S. Berregard in CTH XXVIII (2006), 100: "D. Moncond'huy se propose de montrer la complexité qui caractérise cette période de l'histoire littéraire, par un examen attentive des genres et du contexte (culturel, idéologique. . .) dans lequel ils se développèrent." Notes the attention paid to Tristan L'Hermite in the text.

Review: n.a. in BCLF 679 (2006), 66–67: "L'ouvrage de D. Moncond'huy s'adresse plutôt aux étudiants débutants (qui n'ont guère de notions d'histoire littéraire, à peu près disparue des programmes du secondaire) et à celles ou ceux qui préparent des concours où la culture générale forme un élément d'évaluation important.

NAUDEIX, LAURA. Dramaturgie de la tragédie en musique (1673–1764). Paris: Champion, 2004.

Review: B. Norman in PFSCL XXXIII, 65 (2006), 584–586. Reviewer comments on the author's ability to "not only offer a wealth of primary sources. . . and of sophisticated analysis," but also to be able to "pull all this information together'. The volume 'provides the information and the conceptual framework necessary to appreciate this type of theatre that dominated the Parisian stage for a century."

NEDELEC, CLAUDINE. Les Etats et empires du burlesque. Lumière Classique 51. Paris: Champion, 2004.

Review: M. Alcover in DSS 230 (2006), 174–177: This ambitious project aimed at understanding 《 ce que le XVIIe siècle pense en pensant burlesque 》 (19) is favourably reviewed here. Nédélec divides her study into three parts, 《 Les origines du "monstre appelé burlesque" 》, 《 Le Burlesque tel qu'en lui-même 》, and 《 Ridendo dicrere 》, followed by a substantial bibliography and exhaustive indices.

Review: R. Corum in FR 79 (2006), 833–34: "Nédélec emphasizes that although the burlesque can exist in. . . any literature, it can flourish. . . only within a well-regulated aesthetic milieu. Such was the classical moment" (834). Identifying Saint-Amant, Scarron, and Sarrasin as the era's main proponents of the burlesque, Nédélec situates the genre within "a subversive mondanité, a modernist reaction that devalued the humanistic values of the preceding generation" (833). A favorable review.

NEEMANN, HAROLD. "The Contes Merveilleux: Point(s) of Contact between Two Cultures." In Beasley, Faith E. & Kathleen Wine, eds. Intersections. Actes du 35e congrès annuel de la North American Society for Seventeenth-Century French Literature, Dartmouth College, 8–10 mai 2003. Biblio 17 Number 161. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, 2005. 317–322.

The conte merveilleux is the product of the interaction of the mondain, literary world of conteurs/conteuses and popular, oral traditions. Mondain authors erased traces of popular influence to create highly polished, literary tales in an aristocratic, classical style.

NIDERST, ALAIN, ed. La poésie à l'âge baroque, 1598–1660. Paris: Robert Laffont (Bouquins), 2005.

Review: M.-O. Sweetser in PFSCL XXXIII, 65 (2006), 586–589. Reviewer welcomes "cet important recueil," and is impressed with the paratextual information which the editor has included.

NOILLE-CLAUZADE, CHRISTINE. "Styles ou style? L'invention du singulier dans la réflexion rhétorique classique." Littérature 137 (mars 2005): 55–68.

Shows how during the second half of the seventeenth century, though a break is not make with dominant ideas about rhetoric, a place is created to talk about the singularity of writing—"the style"—and even "the voice." Examination in particular of Lamy's 1675 La Rhétorique ou l'Art de parler.

NORMAN, LARRY F. "Tragic Violence in Performance and Print Illustration: From Monléon's Thyeste to Corneille and Racine." In Beasley, Faith E. & Kathleen Wine, eds. Intersections. Actes du 35e congrès annuel de la North American Society for Seventeenth-Century French Literature, Dartmouth College, 8–10 mai 2003. Biblio 17 Number 161. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, 2005. 143–156.

The author examines illustrations of violence in the printed editions of classical tragedies. If verbal art was considered sufficient for the representation of violence on stage, why then were readers offered visual representations? The attraction and repulsion of violence "breeds a complex interplay of speech and action, dialogue and didascalie, text and image, all charged with a vexed desire for the shock of the visual."

NOYE-CLAUSADE, CHRISTINE. "Le comique et la poétique du faux-semblable (Molière, La Bruyère)." LC 2 (2004), 235–248.

A close look at the debate between La Bruyère and Molière on the subject of "vraisemblance." "C'est alors en étudiant la question de la vraisemblance en liaison avec la poétique du genre comique (prosaïque ou dramatique), que l'on pourra forumler trois hypothèses complémentaires sur la crise de la vraisemblance chez ces deux auteurs."

ORTNER-BUCHBERGER, CLAUDIA. "Métamorphoses d'Arlequin. Le rôle de la corporalité comique dans le Théâtre italien de Gherardi." In Erdmann, Eva and Konrad Schoell, eds. Le comique corporel: Mouvement et comique dans l'espace théâtral du XVIIe siècle. Biblio 17 Number 163. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, 2006. 101–116.

The author compares and contrasts the Italian theater's use of physicality and the body with the aesthetics of classicism in order to examine the acceptance of "la comédie italienne" by seventeenth-century French audiences.

PAIGE, NICHOLAS. "The Storyteller and the Book: Scenes of Narrative Production in the Early French Novel." MLQ 67 (2006), 141–170.

Identifying in romances a kind of open, willing storytelling which he terms "the coterie model," Paige attempts to follow its fate as a means of reconsidering Benjamin's claim that the novel, with its emphasis on information, put an end to the story, with its accent on moral guidance. Paige concludes that "[t]he erosion of the coterie model in the 1660s and the 1670s never 'killed' the storyteller, after all. The figure simply went on to provide a new generation with a means of thinking about transformations in the cultural uses of print" (166). The article ranges quite broadly in its consideration of texts.

PAPERS ON FRENCH SEVENTEENTH CENTURY LITERATURE. Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature. 31, 60 (2004).

Review: C. Rolla in SFr 147 (2005): 632–33: Diverse and wide-ranging issue includes several articles on theatre as well as others on Ronsardian reception, Tristan, affinities of La Fontaine with Racine, Lafayette and Théophile, Cartesian autobiography, badinage chez Mme de Sévigné, lexical-stylistic features of works often attributed to le comte de Carmain, and a response of Fritz Nies to an earlier article by Roger Duchêne.

PASQUIER, PIERRE, ed. Le Mémoire de Mabelot. Paris: Champion, 2007.

Review: M. Hawcroft in FS 60.3 (2006), 390–391: Le Mémoire de Mabelot is a critical document for understanding the survival of the Hôtel de Bourgogne theater and thus for understanding life and conditions in seventeenth-century theaters as a whole. This is the first edition of the Mémoire since 1920 and it comes with a 200 page introduction which offers, in the reviewer's opinion, the "best available account of... French scenography pertaining to the spoken drama" of the period. A very enthusiastic review which concludes that Pasquier's work is a "major revision" to Scherer's Dramaturgie classique.

PERCHELLET, JEAN-PIERRE. L'héritage classique. La tragédie entre 1680 et 1814. Paris: Champion, 2004.

Review: F. Piva in SFr no. 146 (2005): 417: Welcome study which, in spite of certain debatable conclusions, "ha i meriti per far nascere questo interesse e per attrarre sulla tragedia settecentesca quella curiosità che fino ad ora sono mancati" (417). Illuminates this théâtre méconnu as well as the mentality of the later 17th c, as over 50 tragedies are analyzed and dramatic theory after Racine examined.

PERSELS, JEFFREY & RUSSELL GANIM, eds. Fecal Matters in Early Modern Literature and Art: Studies in Scatology. Studies in European Cultural Transition, 21. Aldershot and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004.

Review: C. Freccero in Ren Q 58 (2005): 980–81: Judges that "the essays gathered in this volume contribute importantly to the cultural materialist and Foucauldian project of constructing a genealogical history of the body's discursively productive wastes" (981). The essays focus on French, German and English early modern visual art and literary culture, aiming "to showcase just how prevalent, explicit, and voluble the discourse on emissions of bodily waste was" (980). Order is chronological and there is an important interdisciplinary element, especially at "the intersections between literature and science" (981). Index, illustrations, bibliography.

PETERS, JEFFREY N. Mapping Discord: Allegorical Cartography in Early Modern French Writing. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2004.

Review: S. O'Hara in FR 79 (2006), 1363–4: Peters' book "explores the ways in which maps function as instruments of power (rhetorical, political, ideological)" (1363), and suggests that the elaboration of allegorical maps in early modern writing created an affiliation between scientific and poetic/literary discourse in an era when the former was increasingly dethroning the latter. Peters' "wide-ranging, imaginative, thought-provoking writing" is said to open up the interest and relevance of allegorical maps to multiple fields of inquiry. He of course addresses Scudéry's famous "Carte de Tendre," but also goes beyond it, discussing Montaigne, d'Aubignac, Boileau, Furetière, Sorel, and participants in the quarrel between the ancients and moderns.

Review: R. Racevskis in E Cr 45.4 (2005): 92–93: Judged "substantial" and "exciting," Peters's volume argues that "the increasingly geometrical representation of geographical space in early modern cartography did not eliminate figurative signifying processes: it merely displaced them" (92). Organized into five chapters, the study includes sections focusing on the history of maps from the Middle Ages to the 17th c., Madeleine de Scudéry's "Carte de Tendre," d'Aubignac's "Carte du royaume de Coquetterie," Boileau's Dialogue des héros de roman, Furetière's "Carte de la bataille des romans," and François de Callières's Histoire politique de la guerre nouvellement déclarée entre les anciens et les modernes. Useful to readers of wide-ranging interests "from medieval culture to postmodern theory" (93).

PIOFFET, MARIE-CHRISTINE. "L'Empire du Milieu dans la fiction narrative du XVIIe siècle." In Beasley, Faith E. & Kathleen Wine, eds. Intersections. Actes du 35e congrès annuel de la North American Society for Seventeenth-Century French Literature, Dartmouth College, 8–10 mai 2003. Biblio 17 Number 161. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, 2005. 219–228.

China offers a locus amoenus or scenic backdrop for novelists who draw on commonplaces dating from Marco Polo and the Renaissance to create a place both distant and familiar to seventeenth-century readers.

PRIGENT, MICHEL (dir). Histoire de la France littéraire. Tome 1 : Naissances, Renaissances, Moyen Age—XVIe siècle, dirigé par Frank Lestringant et Michel Zink; Tome 2 : Classicismes, XVII–XVIIIe, dirigé par Jean-Charles Darmon et Michel Delon ; Tome 3 : Modernités, XIX–XXe, dirigé par Patrick Berthier et Michel Jarrety. Paris : PUF (Quadrige-Dicos poche), 2006.

Review : E. Pieiller in QL 921 (du 16 au 30 avril 2006), 25 : 《  A vrai dire, on ne sait pas très bien à qui s'adressent ces ouvrages. Ils ne proposent quasiment aucune monographie rendant compte précisément de la démarche d'un auteur singulier, les liens avec l'Histoire sont souvent absents, les notions sont peu explicitées—un index des notions clefs ou concepts aurait été souhaitable-ainsi qu'entend—on par 《  nature  》 au XVIIe siècle, est-ce la même chose qu'au Moyen Age ?... Les citations sont rares, et de façon générale, ce qui est l'enjeu même d'une œuvre n'est guère considéré. (...) Quelques rares contributions peuvent stimuler  》 mais en général la critique est bien déçue.

QUINT, DAVID. "The Tragedy of Nobility on the Seventeenth-Century Stage." MLQ 67 (2006), 7–29.

Considers Phèdre, Suréna, Shakespearian tragedy and Tirso de Molina's El burlador de Sevilla as dramatizations of the laying low of the nobility by state centralization and the rise of absolutism (à la Norbert Elias). Quint also discusses the "sense of belatedness that haunts seventeenth-century tragedy" (28).

RACAULT, JEAN-MICHEL. Nulle part et ses environs: Voyage aux confins de l'utopie classique (1657–1802). Collection Imago Mundi, no. 7. Ed. François Moureau. Paris: P.U.F., 2003.

Review: J.-P. Engélbert in RLC 315 (2005), 379: "L'utopie revèle alors l'immensité du territoire qu'elle structure de l'âge classique à la fin des Lumières et la méthode se montre adaptée à la demonstration de l'auteur, pour qui elle est moins un mode de l'imaginaire social qu'un genre littéraire, qui peut donc être décrit par les liens structuraux qu'il entretient avec les genres connexes. C'est la thèse de l'ouvrage, qui, contre les études d'inspiration historique et sociologique qui voient dans les utopies des modèles politiques, s'attache à montrer que la politique est rarement au premier plan des utopies classiques, que celles-ci représentent encore plus rarement des sociétés idéales mais au contraire conduisent souvent la critique des sociétés qu'elles décrivent, qu'elles ne postulent pas un avenir, mais explorent un ailleurs."

Review: J. Stalnakeri in RR 96.1 (2005), 115–117. Explores "literary works at the margins of the classical utopia, in an attempt to articulate the relationship between the utopia as a literary genre and travel literature in the seventeenth and eighteenth century." Focuses on spatial readings of utopia and offers readings that are primarily structural and formal, excluding historical considerations.

LE RECUEIL. Le Recueil. No. 1: "Féries. Études sur le conte merveilleux XVIIe–XIXe siècle", MR Lire, no. 5611. Grenoble: Université Stendhal-Grenoble 3, Ellug, 2003.

Review: R. Bochenek-Franczakowa in SFr no. 146 (2005): 416–17: Welcome first issue of a new annual which will be devoted to literary studies on "le conte merveilleux de langue française, du 17e au 19e siècle" (416). Contemporary research methods will bring illumination as well as "un espace d'échange entre les genres, un creuset d'expérimentation formelle et de réflexion esthétique" (p. 7 of the annual) and each issue will be organized around a precise theme. Thus first issue, examining "le recueil" is appreciated for its rich perspectives and interpretations.

REISS, TIMOTHY J. Mirages of the Selfe: Patterns of Personhood in Ancient and Early Modern Europe. Stanford: Stanford UP, 2003.

Review: C. Kallendorf in Ren Q 58 (2005): 308–10: Reiss's thesis is that "the concept of a separate, private individual, of a self free and independent in its will, intentions, and choices, was not even conceptualized until the beginning of the first or second centuries AD at the earliest, and was considered aberrant until well into the seventeenth century. . . [that is] person and society were mutually constructed" (308). Reiss argues that "the self-conscious subject agent who resolved conflict rationally began with Descartes and ended with Hobbes and Locke, but in losing its roots in the old order, it eventually became un-Cartesian" (309). Impressive by its "mastery of over three hundred primary sources", Reiss's work challenges periodic divisions and certain recent studies on class and gender (309–10).

RIGOLOT, FRANÇOIS. L'Erreur de la Renaissance. Perspectives littéraires. Paris: Champion, 2002.

Review: D. Nelting in RF 117 (2005): 119–23: Judged highly profitable, interesting and stimulating in all its multifaceted perspectives. Wide-ranging examination of error (in thought, in nature, in love, in the world, in language and rhetoric) as it relates to art, philosophy, theology, rhetoric and poetics. Important considerations on the 17th c., in particular as concerns "la doctrine classique" and exponents such as Pascal, Malherbe, Boileau and Guez de Balzac.

ROBERT, RAYMONDE, ed. Mademoiselle Lhéritier, Mademoiselle Bernard, Mademoiselle de La Force, Madame Durand, Madame d'Auneuil. Contes. Paris: Champion 2005.

Review: D. Dalla Valle in SFr 147 (2005): 637: This highly useful second volume of the Bibliothèque des Génies et des Fées includes a general introduction, a general bibliography on 17th c. women's writing, the Contes de fées, popular literature, and useful dictionaries. Notices for the contes include the author's biography, specific bibliography, annotations, indices of principal characters and illustrations.

Review: M.-A. Thirard in PFSCL XXXIII, 65 (2006), 592–597. Detailed description of the contents of the volume. Concludes: "Grâce soit donc rendue à Raymonde Robert qui nous propose de redécouvrir des textes souvent injustement méconnus et qui permettra à une nouvelle génération d'adeptes des contes de fées de retrouver avec un autre regard que celui de l'enfance le royaume de la merveille."

ROHOU, JEAN. Le classicisme. Rennes: Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2004.

Review: J.-M. Civardi in IL 58.2 (2006), 60–61. New revised edition of the 1996 version. Praises the insightful perspective Rohou adopts, his non-reductionism, his caution and his judicious interpretation. Argues in particular that the author intends to show us the "vision pessimiste de l'homme" in the seventeenth century through the analysis of passions and that he offers a subtle analysis of the classical rules. Praises the conclusion that discusses Louis XIV's weakened state at the end of his regime. Important work by an illustrious specialist that will be of tremendous help to students, due to its extraordinary insight and pertinent analysis.

ROLLIN, SOPHIE. "Psyché, ou la mondanité mise en scene." PFSCL XXXIII, 64 (2006), 11–28.

Through the tragédie-ballet Psyché, examines "le croisement des points de vue sur la mondanité, et l'élaboration, à partir d'une norme sociale, d'un modele esthétique."

ROLLINAT-LEVASSEUR, EVE-MARIE. "Péritexte des œuvres théâtrales: société et dramaturge en miroir." PFSCL XXXIII, 64 (2006), 221–237.

Examines the role of the peritextual elements (title-page, frontispiece, épitre, dédicace. . .) in a number of printed plays. Concludes: "Ainsi les dramaturges évoquent-ils volontiers dans les textes liminaires un public plus large que celui des spectateurs de la pièce. [. . .] [L]es textes liminaires semblent être un espace qui fonde une sociabilité littéraire et qui se présente aux yeux des lecteurs comme le théâtre de la diffusion d'un sentiment français et d'une image de la France."

LE ROMAN BAROQUE. Cahiers de l'Association International des Études Françaises. May 2004, no. 56.

Review: L. Rescia in SFr no. 146 (2005): 411: This issue of CAIEF reflects the society's rich and varied 55th meeting of July 2003 as it focuses on three domains. French studies: in Lebanon, Egypt and in the work of Raymond Roussel (1877–1933); Paul Bénichou's critical reflections, and the baroque novel. Rescia particularly finds this third section noteworthy incorporating perspectives of theoretical, historical, formal and stylistic nature as well as a selective bibliography.

ROY, ROXANNE. "Du mariage comme honnête vengeance dans quelques nouvelles au XVIIe siècle." PFSCL XXXIII, 65 (2006), 469–479.

Concludes (on examination of a number of nouvelles, by, for example, Scudéry, La Roche-Guilhen and Poisson): "Les nouvellistes se donnent [. . .] comme tâche (plus ou moins conscieusement selon les cas) d'enseigner aux lecteurs une pratique honnête de la vengeance en leur présentant une série d'exemples à imiter ou à fuir, les incitant du coup à corriger les débordements de la vengeance qui entravent la civilité." However, they also play considerably with "les règles qui sous-tendent la vengeance honnête" in order to entertain the reader.

ROYÉ, JOCELYN. "Les Bestiaire pédantesque et ses enjeux à l'âge classique." CdDS 10.2 (2006), 83–94.

Royé examines the bestiality of the seventeenth-century "pédant" and its functions, by looking at its tradition in Italian texts and texts of the French Renaissance. He also shows how the depictions of the "pédant" in the seventeenth century contribute to shift awareness onto the role of the body, bringing about the period known as Enlightenment.

RUBIN, DAVID LEE, ed., et al. La Poésie française du premier 17e siècle: Textes et contexts. Gunter Narr Verlag, 1986. 2e edition, revue et augmentée avec la collaboration de R. T. Corum, Charlottesville, Rookwood Press, 2004.

Review: G. Peureux, CTH XXVIII (2006), 96–97: Extensive anthology with commentary from a number of prominent scholars, "l'annotation étant le plus souvent précise et utilement placée." Bibliography follows each section. Reviewer cites in particular three introductory essays by R. N. Nicolich, F.-J. Hausmann, and Cl. Abraham. However, the reviewer also notes, "Si les questions posées par ces trois essays, à visée clairement pédagogique, sont encore agitées aujourd'hui, ils n'en souffrent pas moins d'un deficit d'actualité théorique et critique" (97). Review also laments that typographical errors present in the first edition have not been corrected, and that the bibliographies have not been updated to include criticism past 1991.

RUGGERI, MARC. "Cioran ou la Leçon de Ténèbres des moralistes français." DSS 231 (2006), 217–241.

"Il existe entre Cioran et les moralistes français une harmonie prétablie. Un accord de spiritualité et de goût qui, par delà les siècles, lui permet de comprendre La Rochefoucauld, La Bruyère ou Pascal. En nous autorisant de cette amitié affranchie du Temps, c'est à une lecture anachronique que nous nous livrerons ici, nous rendant à quelques points de rencontre où Cioran aime à fréquenter les moralistes, et soumettant son œuvre aux critères d'appréciation du Grand Siècle."

SALAZAR, PHILIPPE-JOSEPH, ed. L'art de parler: Anthologie de manuels d'éloquence. Paris: Klincksieck, 2003.

Review: V. Kapp in PFSCL XXXIII, 65 (2006), 597–599. Reviewer sees Salazar's volume as filling a very important gap in rhetoric studies: texts which are difficult to access are included within an impressive critical framework. In terms of the choice of texts, reviewer remarks that the influence of 'l'éloquence de la chaire' is minimised, hardly surprising from a specialist of libertine rhetoric.

SELLIER, PHILIPPE. Essais sur l'imaginaire classique. Pascal, Racine, Précieuses et moralistes, Fénelon. Paris: Honoré Champion, 2003.

Review: T. Gheeraert in DSS 231 (2006), 364–367: Comprised of both previously published articles and new work, "Sellier s'interroge sur le relatif désintérêt des thématiciens pour le XVIIe siècle." Through rigorous analysis of the time and texts, he concludes that "quelles qu'en soient les causes, l'indifférence [...] relève d'un injuste aveuglement."

SHAW, MARY LEWIS. The Cambridge Introduction to French Poetry. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003.

Review: n.a. in FMLS 41.1 (2005): 119: Judged "ambitious," "erudite," "technically detailed," Shaw's volume is organized into chapters on prosody, poetry, politics and philosophy and includes an epilogue on poetry and the visual arts. Bibliography and glossary.

SIMKIN, STEVIE. Early Modern Tragedy and the Cinema of Violence. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.

Review: H. Hayton in Choice 44 (2006), 92. "Provocative exploration of the shared traits of 17th-century revenge tragedies and their late 20th-century cinematic counterparts" (92). Particularly concerned with the representation of violence against women and the notion that outlaw justice responds to failures of institutional law. Focused on literature in English.

SPIELMANN, GUY. Le jeu de l'ordre et du chaos: Comédie et pouvoirs à la fin de règne, 1673–1715. Paris: Honoré Champion, 2002.

Review: A. Blanc in DSS 231 (2006), 359–361: An exceptional and innovative work, "M. Spielmann veut montrer, comme l'annonce son titre, que le théâtre fin de règne est un théâtre dérangeant. A double titre: d'abord en soi, comme émergence d'une infraconscience sociale, qui n'est encore acceptée que comme fiction théâtrale, puis surtout pour nous, qui pouvons mieux discerner après trois siècles son rôle véritable. C'est cette vérité, insuffisamment admise, qu'il s'applique à démontrer dans un ouvrage passionné[.]"

SPIELMANN. GUY. "Mises en scène du 《  Mariage à la mode  》 en Angleterre et en France: Déconfiture annoncée du pouvoir monarchique?" PFSCL XXXIII, 65 (2006), 355–372.

Examines the theme of marital discord and 'mariage à la mode' in a wide range of French and English plays from the last decades of the century within their socio-political context.

STACEY, SARAH ALYN & VERONIQUE DESNAIN, eds. Culture and Conflict in Seventeenth-Century France and Ireland. Dublin and Portland, OR: Four Courts Press, 2004.

Review: L. Gregorio in Fr F 30 (2005): 121–23: Welcome, wide-ranging collection, although quite disparate, makes "a fine contribution to literary history in areas not often examined by dix-septiémistes in literature" (123). Organized into sections on "Women, men and texts in conflict", "Moral conflicts", "The theatre in conflict", and "Military conflict", these acta of the Trinity College Dublin Colloquium of November 1999 marking "the acquisition of a collection of rare seventeenth-century texts" also includes reflections on problems of translation.

SWAIN, VIRGINIA E. "Beauty's Chambers: Mixed Genres and Mixed Messages in Villeneuve's Beauty and the Beast." Marvels & Tales 19.2 (2005), 197–223.

Though more relevant to 18th century studies, fairy tale specialists and women's studies scholars may be intrigued by the thesis that "Villeneuve's Beauty and the Beast stands at the intersection of two aesthetics and two sets of values for women and manifests this junction in its own hybrid form."

TATAR, MARIA. Secrets Beyond the Door: The Story of Bluebeard and His Wives. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2004.

Review: R. A. Jordan in Marvels & Tales 20.1 (2006), 199–122: Addresses why this gory tale continues to fascinate writers, filmmakers, and artists. Chapter one will be of special interest to dix-septièmistes, as it examines in depth Perrault's version, notably the depiction of the wife, which differs considerably from the tale's oral tradition.

TONOLO, SOPHIE. Divertissement et Profondeur. L'épître en vers et la société mondaine en France de Tristan à Boileau. Paris: Champion, 2005.

Review: D. Denis in PFSCL XXXIII, 65 (2006), 600–603. Reviewer praises author for her ability to "assurer à l'épître en vers, pour la période retenue, sa pleine reconnaissance générique," and her ability to "nous guider avec sensibilité dans la poétique de l'épître en vers." Also worthy of praise is the socio-political contextualisation and the breadth of the corpus included.

ULAGLI, SERHAT. "Le Rôle de l'exotisme dans la formation de l'image turque." SFr no. 146 (2005): 315–24.

Focusing on perception or "percevoir" as a principal element representing the influence of the author as well as the role of the "voyageur-lecteur", Ulagli's objective is to present and analyze "le rôle de l'Ailleurs de l'auteur dans la formation de l'Ailleurs du lecteur" (315). Ulagli finds in récits de voyages and other works four different Turkeys: "un pays à conquérir, un pays à découvrir, un pays d'introspection ou le pays des changements" (319). Paragraphs on the 17th c. are based on works by Jean Chardin, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, Pierre Bayle, Racine and Molière. Extensive notes. This survol complements other studies such as R. Galli Pellegrini's Le Voyage en Turquie dans l'imaginaire français au XVIIe siècle (2004) and the several articles on Turkey in the remarkable volume XVII (2004) of Travaux de Littérature.

VERDIER, ANNE. '《  Les Trois Tailleurs  》. Vêtement et costume de théâtre au XVIIe siècle'. PFSCL XXXIII, 64 (2006), 139–146.

Examines the figure of the tailor (as social reality), the theatre costume designer and the character of the tailor (as theatrical invention). Argues that "le personnage du tailleur au théâtre est tout autre chose qu'un reflet, même diabolisé du tailleur mondain : c'est un personnage type, le double métaphorique du 《  meneur de jeu  》 [. . .], un personnage machiniste, un élément qui fait avancer l'action."

VIALLETON, JEAN-YVES. "Les compliments dans le théâtre sérieux du XVIIe siècle." PFSCL XXXIII, 64 (2006), 29–45.

Asks: "Quelles difficultés soulèvent la définition même de cet acte de parole qu'est le compliment? Quels rapports entretient le compliment avec la rhétorique savante et scolaire? Enfin, question épineuse, mais essentielle, quels sont les rapports entre le compliment sur scène et le compliment dans la vie?"

VIALLETON, JEAN-YVES. Poésie dramatique et prose du monde. Le comportement des personnages dans la tragédie en France au XVIIe siècle. Paris: Champion, 2004.

Review: M. Pavesio in SFr 147 (2005): 633. A rich bibliography and an index of names and plays analyzed complements this fascinating study by Vialleton (a revision of his doctoral dissertation directed by Georges Forestier). This long study (over 800 pages), part of the "Lumières Classiques" collection directed by Philippe Sellier, includes the following sections: "Dramturgie et mise en scène de soi," "Poésie tragique et bon usage de la parole," "Morale tragique et science du monde (notions of "civilité, honnêteté, bienséance).

VUILLERMOZ, MARC. "Le spectacle en process. Réflexions sur le sens des réquisitoires chez les théoriciens du théatre à l'âge classique." RHLF 106.3 (2006), 629–642.

Examines "la nature et les enjeux des arguments avancés par les ennemis du théâtre dans le grand concert de voix qui s'élèvent contre les artifices de la scène." Opposes the arguments voiced and strategies employed by both opponents and defendants.

WAGNEUR, JEAN-DIDIER, DANIEL ROCHE, ARNAUD DHERMY, et al. Voyages. . .: carnets de route, voyage architectural, Louis XIV, R. Caillié, J. Vallès, échappée poétique avec J. Réda. Paris: Bibliothèque nationale de France, 2006.

Review: n. a. in BCLF 683 (2006), 75–76: "La vingt-deuxième livraison de la Revue de la Bibliothèque nationale de France consacre son dossier aux Voyages. . ., avec de prometteurs points de suspension. Circulant parmi les ressources immenses d'une des plus grandes bibliothèques du monde, les collaborateurs de ce fascicule n'ont pu se livrer qu'à des explorations bien partielles: les livres de voyage à l'époque moderne (XVIe–XVIIIe siècle) et, en particulier, la Bibliothèque universelle des voyages de Gilles Boucher de La Richardière (Daniel Roche); les chemins à l'époque moderne (Arnaud Dhermy, qui ignore bizarrement le beau livre du regretté Georges Livet); la tournée entreprise en 1680 par Louis XIV dans le Nord de son royaume (Maxime Préaud). . ."

WEISGERBER, JEAN. La Muse des jardins. Jardins de l'Europe littéraire (1580–1700). Berlin: Lang, 2002.

Review: M.-T. Leuker in RF 117 (2005): 418–20: Fertile in ideas, stimulating and wide-ranging (texts and art from Germany, France, England, Italy and the Netherlands are examined). Symmetry and mastery over nature are central themes. 17th c. French scholars will particularly appreciate the examinations of Madeleine de Scudéry's Le Grand Cyrus, La Fontaine's Le Songe de Vaux and Les Amours de Psyché et de Cupidon, and Madame de La Fayette's La Princesse de Clèves. Illustrations.

WETSEL, DAVID & FREDERIC CANOVAS, eds. Les Femmes au Grand Siècle—Le Baroque: musique et liturgie. (Biblio 17, 144). Tübingen: Gunter Narr, 2003.

Review: J. Prest in FS 60.1 (2006), 101–102: This review of the 2001 NASSCFL proceedings is fairly neutral one. As for many conference proceedings that make their way to publication, this one suffers from imbalance: many articles about women; a few on music. The reviewer, while not objecting to the content, indicates that the volume as a whole would have been more successful had it dedicated itself to a single topic. Of particular interest here are articles on d'Aulnoy, Scudéry and the unknown De La Chapelle, a nun and playwright.

WODIANKA, STEPHANIE. Betrachtungen des Todes: Formes und Funktionen der meditatio mortis in der europäischen Literaur des 17. Jahrhunderts. Frühe Neuzeit 90. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 2004.

Review: J. P. Aiken in Ren Q 58 (2005): 1366–67: Praised for its "breadth and depth of knowledge," Wodianka's volume focuses on poetic texts and includes some less accessible ones in an appendix. Mme de Blémur is among the 17th c. authors examined. Wodianka makes important discoveries relating to the examination of conscience, self-analysis and the construction of self-identity.