French 17 FRENCH 17

2001 Number 49

PART I: BIBLIOGRAPHY, LINGUISTICS, AND THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK

ADAMS, ALISON. "Georgette de Montenay and the Device of the Dordrecht Printer, François Bosselaer." BHR 63.1 (2001), 63–71.

Analysis of Georgette de Montenay's emblem 8 as a source for the reformist printer Bosselaer.

ARBOUR, ROMEO. Les femmes et les métiers du livre en France, de 1600 à 1650. Chicago-Paris: Garamond Press & Didier Erudition, 1998.

Review: A. Berstein in DSS 209 (2000), 721: Divided into two parts, this book presents in narrative and statistical form a portrait of 208 women involved in the book trade as editors, publishers, and booksellers. It provides detailed information about the professional activity of the women as well as biographical data. Also included is a list of publications attributable to each woman. "Un précieux instrument de travail" for cultural historians as well as historians of the book, notes the reviewer.
Review: S.C. Toczyski in CdDS 8.1, 191–93. A welcome addition to a body of work on the history of the book, specifically the unexplored role of women (mostly widows) in publishing. Author divides study into two halves, the first examining the daily activities of women in publishing and documenting their careers in the book trade, the second indexing the names and production of people figuring in the first half. A "truly impressive reference work" only marred by a presentation that makes perusal difficult, and the absence of a list of works published by women.

BENSELER, DAVID P. and MOORE, SUZANNE S. "Doctoral Degrees Granted in Foreign Languages in the United States : 2000." MLJ 85, no.3 (2001), 432–50.

Lists first by discipline, then by institution, then by author. Not separated into periods.

CAYROU, GASTON. Dictionnaire du français classique. La langue au XVIIe siècle. Paris: Livre de Poche, 2000.

Review: E. Pieiller in QL 796 (du 15 au 30 novembre 2000), 26: First published in 1923, the Livre de Poche edition is a new edition of the second edition from 1924. "Cayrou recense deux mille deux cents mots, excluant ceux dont le sens n'a pas varié, et les termes trop rares. Chacun est défini par l'un des dictionnaires de la fin du XVIIe, le Richelet, le Furetière..., sans que l'auteur s'interdise pour autant rectification ou éclaircissement, si besoin est, des exemples, choisis de préférence chez les poètes, viennent embellir chaque notice, que complètent enfin parfois des explications étymologiques ou des précisions charmantes. Ce lexique est idéal pour protéger de tout contresens la lecture de Retz ou de Bossuet, mais également pour se réjouir l'esprit..."

CHAURAND, JACQUES, ed. Nouvelle histoire de la langue française. Paris: Seuil, 1999.

Review: P. Skärup in RevR 35.1 (2000), 131: J.-P. Seguin se charge du 17e–18e siècles pour ce manuel qui "peut être lu aussi bien par le grand public intéressé que par les étudiants de français. . ."

DESAN, PHILIPPE. "Editer et publier les Essais au XVIIe siècle." CAEIF 51 (1999), 205–223.

C. Rizza reviews Desan's contribution to this volume of ACTES in SF 130 (2000), 149 as highly appreciated for the light it sheds on author-editor-reader relations, the type of editions disseminated throughout the entire 17th c., and the taste, interests, and culture of the public.

DUBOIS, ELFRIEDA and SHORT, J.P. Years Work in Modern Language Studies, v. 60 (1998). Modern Humanities Research Association, 1999. 17th c. section, pp. 114–41.

FEREY, ERIC and FORT, SILVAIN.. Bibliographie de la littérature française (XVIIe–XXe siècle). Année 2000 Paris: PUF, >2001.

17th C. section, pp. 74–124. Also issued as no. 3 of RHL (2001). 17th c. section, pp.458–508. Much expanded vol.(749 pp.), including name and title indices.

FOURNIER, NATHALIE. "Expression et place des constituants dans l'énoncé en français classique : la relation sujet-verbe et la relation verbe-objet." LF 130 (2001), 89–107.

Demonstrates that seventeenth-century, classical French is a distinct, key period in French diachronic linguistics because it solidifies the structure of the verbal phrase and excludes many "free patterns" found in old, middle French.

FOURNIER, NATHALIE. Grammaire du français classique. Paris: Belin Sup, 1998.

Review: I. Landy-Houillon in DSS 209 (2000), 743–745: More than a description of the French language from L'Astrée to Télémaque, this book constitutes "une réflexion théorique qui fît d'un recensement de faits de langue vieux de trois siècles un véritable objet scientifique actuel." Fournier's approach incorporates post-Saussurian linguistics, linking diachrony and synchrony, with the goal of tracing the evolution of the language. Abundant are the scrupulously referenced examples from literature, dictionaries, and grammar manuals of the period. "Indispensable" for students and scholars, this "panachronique" grammar "dispenserait aussi bien de tout autre manuel. . .," writes the reviewer.

FRAISSE, LUC, ed. Le manuscrit littéraire. Son statut, son histoire, du Moyen Age à nos jours. Paris: Klincksieck, 1998.

Review: N. Hepp in DSS 209 (2000), 729–731: Four articles are devoted to the 17th century: "L'Original des Pensées de Pascal avant et après Victor Cousin" (J. Mesnard); "[. . .] Le sort des correspondances de Mme Palatine" (D. Van Der Cruysse); "De la Vie du Cardinal de Rais aux Mémoires" (H. Carrier); and "Quelques manuscrits de lettres du XVIIe siècle" (R. Duchêne). Reviewer notes that all four studies identify the precarious status and frequent ill-fate of original manuscripts until a very recent epoch and comments "que nos lecteurs sachent, eux, quel plaisir ils trouveront, en même temps qu'un grand enrichessement de leurs connaissances, à découvrir une à une ces études qui, en dépit de leur convergence, sont très diverses."

GETZLER, PIERRE et JACQUES ROUBAUD. Le Sonnet en France des origines à 1630. Matériaux pour une base de données du sonnet français. Supplément à Vaganay. Paris: Inalco [Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales], 1998.

Review: A. Gendre in BHR LXIII, 2 (2001), 417–19: Supplément à l'ouvrage de Hugues Vaganay, Le Sonnet en Italie et en France au XVIe siècle, essai de bibliographie comparée (Lyon, Facultés catholiques, 1902–03; Slatkine, 1966. "Le nouvel ouvrage contient en effet tout 'Vaganay' (partie française) . . . mais il l'enrichit de manière significative. . . Quant à la partie complètement nouvelle (les trente premières années du XVIIe siècle), elle comprend 1218 entrées."

GIRAUD, YVES. "Les humeurs d'un lexicographe: P. Richelet, critique des écrivains de son temps." TL 13 (2000), 113–131.

Richelet's satirical and at times incongruous remarks are given full attention here as Giraud presents a "vue d'ensemble de l'inventaire" as well as an analysis of Richelet's intent, critical attitude and scope. Positive judgments may be found, for example, on Ablancourt (his protector), Pascal, Vaugelas and Voiture, in addition to the more often sarcastic condemnation, the Mercure galant "ne contient que des pauvretés" and its author, de Visé, "est selon M. de La Bruyère immédiatement au-dessous de rien", (121). Giraud finds the pertinence of Richelet's remarks "loin d'être toujours évidente" (130), yet judges him a "bon lexicographe et caricaturiste plaisant" (131).

GOYA, JOSÉ MANUEL LOSADA. Bibliographie critique de la littérature espagnole en France au XVIIe siècle. Présence et influence. Genève: Droz, 1999.

Review: S. Guellouz in PFSCL XXVIII, 54 (2001) 199–201: "Tous au demeurant s'accorderont à voir dans ce qui peut être considéré comme une véritable somme l'outil le plus perfectionné qui ait jamais été donné en la matière."

GREENSPAN, EZRA and JONATHAN ROSE, eds. Book History. Vol. 2. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999.

Review: J. Feather in LQ 71 (2001), 403–405: An annual collection of essays by North American and European scholars; the topics cover five centuries and include numerous essays on readership (readers and reading) and intellectual property rights. Particularly interesting for dix-septiémistes would be an essay by Trevor Howard-Hill which examines the circulation of plays in manuscript form in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Feather: "Greenspan and Rose are to be congratulated on an excellent and stimulating volume."

KLAPP, OTTO. Bibliographie der französischen Literaturwissenschaft. Vol. 37 (1999). Ed. by Astrid Klapp-Lehrman. Frankfurt: V. Klostermann, 2000. 17th c. section, pp. 285–355.

KRAMER, MICHAEL. "Les Armes de Caïn: Une expression sous enquête diachronique." Neophil 84 (2000), 165–187.

Found in various 17th c. texts such as Cramail's Comédie des proverbes (1633), A. Oudin's Curiositez françoises, C. F. Préfontaine's L'Orphelin infortuné (1660–61) and in Furetière's Dictionnaire (1690), as well as in extrabiblical medieval traditions (some think Cain may have killed Abel with the jawbone of an ass), the phrase receives remarkable attention here. Kramer's "historique" includes French, British and Flemish translations/adaptations of the Bible, the fine arts and literary works. Detailed commentary follows tables of examples, dates and Cain's weapon/s (a veritable panoply). Lengthy bibliography.

LORIOT-RAYMER, GISELE. "Dissertations in Progress," FR 74 (2000), 426–38. 17th c. entries, pp.429–30 (progress), 435–36 (defended).

37th annual listing; accounted for in PFSCL thesis bibliography. See Part I: Roberts, W.

LOSADA GOYA, JOSE MANUEL. Bibliographie critique de la littérature espagnole en France au XVIIe siècle. Présence et influence. Genève: Droz, 1999.

Review: C. Rizza in SF 130 (2000), 148: Ample and generally meritorious bibliography complements those of Fuché-Delbosch and Cioranescu. Organized alphabetically by Spanish authors, the volume includes editions, translations, adaptations and quotes by French 17th c. authors. Bibliography, index of authors and works.

MARTIN, HENRI-JEAN et collab. Mise en page et mise en texte du livre français. La naissance du livre moderne (XIV–XVIIe siècles). Paris: Ed. du Cercle de la Librairie, 2000.

Review: J.-F. Gilmont in BHR 63.1 (2001), 134–136: Excellent travail de synthèse sur l'histoire du livre français et de la lecture.

NEDELEC, CLAUDINE, ed. Les enfants de la Truche. La vie et le langage des argotiers. Quatre textes argotiques (1596–1630). Toulouse: Société de littératures classiques, 1998.

Review: P. Debailly in DSS 210 (2001), 168: The four texts are La Vie généreuse des Mercelots, Gueuz et Boesmiens (1596), la Quinziesme des Serées by Guillaume Bouchet (1597 edition), le Jargon ou langage de l'argot reformé (1632), and Responce et complaincte au Grand Coesre sur le Jargon de l'argot reformé (1630). Glossaries are provided as well as the historical, sociological, and literary context of these works. "Mais l'intérêt majeur de ce corpus reste l'argot lui-même, langue technique, transgressive et secrète, 'à la fois instrument de dissimulation et signe de reconnaissance.'" The reviewer writes that Nédélec "nous procure aussi des instruments pour mieux appréhender le courant comique et 'satirique' des premières décennies du XVIIe siècle. . .."

PLAZENET, LAURENCE. L'Ebahissement et la délectation. Réception comparée et poétiques du roman grec en France et en Angleterre aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles. Paris: Champion, n.d.

Review: S. Michon in BHR 63.1 (2001), 137–139: Ouvrage érudit et bien documenté en deux parties: "une première partie consacrée à l'étude de la réception du roman grec conduit, en second lieu, à une analyse des poétiques propres à ce genre."

QUEMADA, BERNARD et JEAN PRUVOST, eds. Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française et la lexicographie institutionnelle européenne. Actes du colloque international 17, 18 et 19 novembre 1994. Paris: Champion, 1998.

Review: W. Ayres-Bennett in MLR 96.11 (2001), 180–181: Colloquium of European lexicographers celebrates the tercentenary of the Academy's 1694 dictionary. Volume divided into four sections: section one treats the first edition of the dictionary, while section two treats the second through the eighth editions; section three "looks at lexicography activity in Italy, Spain, Britain, Germany, Portugal, Russia, and Catalonia, and its relationship to that of the French Academy, whilst the fourth examines current Academic and institutional projects for dictionaries."

QUENOT, YVETTE. Jean de La Ceppède. Bibliographie des Ecrivains Français, 15. Paris/Rome: Memini, 1998.

Review: C. Bernazzoli in SF 130 (2000), 151: First bibliography on this important baroque poet whose work has received increasing critical attention since the early 20th c. Sections on manuscripts, editions, translations, bibliographies, biographies, book reviews, desiderata and thematic divisions: theology / exegesis, meditation /spirituality, poetics/ rhetoric, baroque perspectives.

RICHTER, NOEL. Cinq siècles de lecture populaire: la formation du système de lecture français de la Renaissance à nos jours. Bernay: Société d'histoire et de lecture, 2000.

Review: BCLF 623 (2000), 1732–33: Deuxième édition remaniée et enrichie. Richter propose une périodisation en sept temps: protohistoire avant 1715; 1715–1792; 1792–1801; 1802–1862; 1862–1895; 1895–1935; 1935 au présent.

ROBERTS, WILLIAM. "Bibliography of North American Theses on Seventeenth-Century French Literature and Background (1999–2000)." PFSCL XXVIII, 54 (2001), 231–46.

Lists 19 new dissertations in progress and 132 completed. Notes changes in title and/or director. Covers fine arts, music and history, including certain 17th C. titles in other literatures.

TRAUB, VALERIE with assistance fromTHERESA BRAUNSCHNEIDER. "Recent Studies in Homoeroticism." ELR 30 (2000), 284–329.

Comprehensive descriptive bibliography of recent studies ranging from "initiating studies" such as John Boswell's 1980 Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality and Adrienne Rich's theoretical "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence" Signs 5 (1980), 631–60, to "General Studies" (Anthologies, Monographs and Reprints), "Gender-Specific Studies", "Studies of Individual Writers", and "State of Criticism." An appendix features a non-descriptive bibliography of "English Renaissance Texts and Histories", "Performance and Film Criticism", and, of particular interest to 17th c. scholars, "Studies in Related Fields" such as Katharine Park's "The Rediscovery of the Clitoris: French Medicine and the Tribade, 1570–1620" in The Body in Parts: Fantasies of Corporeality in Early Modern Europe, ed. David Hillman and Carla Mazzio (1997).

TRETHEWAY, JOHN and J. P. SHORT. Year's Work in Modern Language Studies. Vol. 61 (1999). London: Modern Humanities Research Association, 2000. 17th c. section, pp. 119–0150.

Gives very brief summaries of work done in 17th century French studies. Works are divided into fie categories: General, Poetry, Drama, Prose, and Thought.

VEKENE, EMILE VAN DER. Reliures des XVIe et XVIIe siècles conservées à la Bibliothèque Nationale de Luxembourg. Luxembourg: Bibliothèque Nationale de Luxembourg, 2000.

Review: A. Hobson in TLS 5137 (Sep 14 2001), 30: An album of 115 bookbindings, 25 of which are from France or the Netherlands. Each reproduction is accompanied by commentary that proposes place and date of the binding's manufacture. 32 of these bindings were included in a 1972 collection published by the same author. Hobson finds this a useful repertory but regrets that dimensions are not specified and that the legends on the rolls and panels are not given.

VISSER, A.S.Q. et al., eds. Emblem Books in Leiden. A Catalogue of the Collections of Leiden University Library, the Maatschappij de Nederlandse Letterkunde and Bibliotheca Thysiana. Leiden: Primavera Pers, 1999.

Review: A. Saunders in BHR 62.2 (2000), 414–415: "As well as giving a bibliographical description of each emblem book listed, the editors of this catalogue give important information concerning the individual copy, including description of its physical appearance in terms of, for example, its binding and any manuscript annotations it may carry, and above all its provenance, all of which furnish important data on which to base judgements as to the background against which emblem books were acquired and used." The Thysiana contains many French, Spanish, and Italian books of emblems collected by Thysius in the early 17th century.

Back to top of page