Le Silence de la Mer, a Masterpiece of Activist Literature

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

In October 1941, it is war. The German occupation of France was beginning, as also the French Resistance. Jean Bruller and Pierre de Lescure create an illegal publishing house : les Editions de Minuit.

On 20 February 1942, there is the true start of this operation, with the publication in 350 copies of a short novel by Jean Bruller, under the pseudonym Vercors : "Le Silence de la Mer ".

This exceptional story is about the installation of a cultivated German officer in the house of a French intellectual. The German, francophile, seeks to communicate, but the Frenchman only replies by the silence. The German eventually doubt the merits of his own values.

Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie is one of the first founders of the Resistance networks. On April 8, Sotheby's Paris sells his copy of the first edition of le Silence de la Mer, which had been kept by his son. This copy contains the leaflet announcing the creation of the Editions de Minuit.

For this rare complete witness, in perfect condition, of a significant event in modern literature, the estimate is 9 K €.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

17.5 K € fees included : it is a nice price for this copy full of history.