Pas-de-Calais: a new work attributed to Cyrano de Bergerac revealed to the public for the first time

Historia – How was this unpublished manuscript discovered?

Guy Fontaine – It all started with another manuscript, this one contemporary. In 2021, Annick Benoit and I, co-authors of a History of European literature, we are working on its third edition. For this, we sought calm for a few weeks in a writers’ residence in Tarn-et-Garonne, north of Montauban. To thank for the welcome received, we gave a conference in front of around thirty people. However, during this evening, a lady from the audience came to talk to me about a 70-page manuscript acquired by her brother in an auction room in Angoulême. It was an old play, unpublished and unsigned, entitled The Art of Persuading, which he thought was written by Molière. The lady asked me if I would agree to take a look at it to give an opinion… This kind of proposition cannot be refused!

A little later, I received a color photocopy of the manuscript by post. When I read it, I said to myself that it was a quality work, of very high quality in fact. As for the dating of the 17th century^e century, there was little doubt about the writing and the paper. Concerning the authorship of the text, I first thought of a comedy, not by Molière, but by Corneille… Other people around me pointed out to me how much the author of the manuscript was inspired by the Latin playwright Plautus .

I then turned to a neighbor and friend, Professor Robert Horville, a recognized specialist in the literature of the Grand Siècle. He also found the piece excellent and it was he who sniffed out the Cyrano de Bergerac trail!

In two words, what is the argument of this play?

It is a comedy – or a tragicomedy – most probably from the second part of the 1640s. The plot evokes other Latin plays or from the 17th^e century, since it brings together two young sons, two young daughters, two old fathers and clever, even manipulative valets… The story ends, of course, with two marriages. But there are also originalities: the two young ladies at the center of the plot, who are both called Julie, have a very different journey from that of Plaute’s young firsts, and the play, which takes place in the district of Marais, is full of references to current events. We discuss Paris suffering from the Parliamentary Fronde, as well as the Thirty Years’ War.

Why is the Cyrano de Bergerac track now widely favored?

First, the play takes place in his world. There we find places that he knew well, which is verifiable in his biography. The story of the characters also echoes events with which he was probably confronted: for example, we learn that the two Julies were exfiltrated from the convent of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port, near Nancy, to escape persecution Protestants – this corresponds to the activity of a Parisian network which was set up to come to the aid of Lorraine Catholics who were then threatened.

Furthermore, the language and references used by the author also speak for Cyrano. At first glance, one might believe it to be a comedy composed by a Pedant, with lots of Latinisms and complex literary devices, sometimes very effective, sometimes flatter. But, when we look more closely at this verbal fireworks display, we find elements that also exist in Cyrano’s known works. For example, there are cousinages with figures of speech or a cut of the alexandrine used in his piece The Death of Agrippina. We also read a way of evoking the Moon which is present in its Comic history ofStates and Empires of the Moon.

This body of evidence points in the same direction. We must nevertheless remain cautious: the part, in the state of knowledge, is onlyassigned in Cyrano de Bergerac.

Where to locate The Art of Persuading in 17th century literature^e century ?

As I mentioned, there are very clear links with Latin theater and several comedies from the 17th century.^e century. The baroque aesthetic is omnipresent. Let’s say we are somewhere between The Comic Illusion of Corneille and Deceits of Scapin by Molière.

What are the next steps to publicize this manuscript?

The premiere takes place at the Palais des Congrès du Touquet-Paris-Plage, this Sunday, April 21, at 6:30 p.m., at the end of the Le Printemps Baroque festival, organized by Vincent Tavernier, the great specialist in the staging of theater with ballet by Molière . A set of ten actors from the Compagnie des Malins Plaisirs will offer the first public reading of the unpublished manuscript. For us, this will be a moving moment, but which will also allow us to better understand the play in its theatricality. Robert Horville and I will intervene at the beginning of each act to provide the main elements of understanding.

After that, the next important moment will be the publication of the manuscript in the Classiques Garnier collection, a scientific edition directed by Robert and me, and benefiting from the scholarly assistance of colleagues from our European Letters network. Other events are also to be planned around the piece in 2024 and 2025, aimed at conservatories, school and university audiences, etc.