Author: BONNETAIN, Paul
Title: Autograph Letter Signed to an unknown correspondent in Britain.
Description: Handwritten letter on 'Original Louvre Mill' paper. 17.5 x 11.0 cm. To 'Cher Monsieur'. 4 p. Dated 'Nice, 18 février' [1886]. 72 lines. Folded, small tear at the foot. Cordial but pessimistic letter to Bonnetain's agent in England about the approaching publication of his book Opium around May 15, 1886. Obviously, he is in dire straits after the turmoil originated by the publication of his shocking novel Charlot s'amuse (1883), that openly discussed the heinous effects of masturbation. About the possibilities of translations in the U.S.A. and Germany - but the Italian translation is already in his pocket. Probably Opium will sell better in English, because the first part is dedicated to 'psychologie passionnelle', and the three others to the English in Hong-Kong. Moreover, there are plans to publish a complete French translation of Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by De Quincey introduced by Bonnetain: 'j'ai promis à l'éditeur une préface qui fera naitre des polémiques'. This project, however, never materialized. An informative letter by a courageous, youthful author, doomed to die only 40 years old in Laos (1899).

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