Correspondance générale

This second volume of the Correspondance générale, which covers the years 1793 and 1794, is composed mainly of the continuation of the brilliant series of letters which Benjamin Constant (1767–1830), now a courtier at Brunswick, had begun to exchange with Isabelle de Charrière in Switzerland in 1787. These letters, along with those addressed by Constant to other correspondents, particularly to several members of his family and friends in Brunswick, enable us to follow the events of his intellectual and emotional life at this time, including his friendship with the publicist Jakob Mauvillon, his role in the court-martial affair of his father, his divorce from his first wife Minna von Cramm, his friendship with Charlotte von Hardenberg (later his second wife), his break with the Court of Brunswick, his return to Switzerland and the beginning of his long liaison with Germaine de Staël.

This third volume of Correspondance générale contains 279 letters written by or addressed to Benjamin Constant from the period preceding the beginning of his career as journalist and publicist in Paris in May–June 1795 until his nomination to the Tribunat in December 1799. This volume is a valuable document on the intellectual and political life of the time; it also allows the reader to learn about Constant's relations to his family and friends.

This fourth volume of the Correspondance générale contains 368 letters written during the period of the Consulat when, as a member of the Tribunat until January 1802, Constant acquired a reputation as a brilliant orator and outspoken opponent of Bonaparte. It was also a period when he produced a number of manuscripts on politics and religion on which he would base works published between 1814 and 1830. The correspondence also contains letters of compelling human interest to and from Julie Talma and an extraordinary epistolary exchange with Anna Lindsay, with whom Constant fell in love in 1800.

The 285 letters contained in this volume of the Correspondance générale date from the years following Constant's exclusion from the Tribunal. They reflect his work on religious issues, his dreams of literary success, and his travels in France, Germany, and Switzerland. In addition, they provide an impression of political life at the beginning of the Napoleonic empire and the emotional vicissitudes undergone by their author.

Ce volume de la Correspondance générale contient 265 lettres datant des années qui suivent l'éviction de Benjamin Constant du Tribunat. Il travaille sur les religions, rêve de gloire littéraire et voyage en France, en Allemagne et en Suisse. Les lettres sont le reflet de la vie politique des débuts de l'Empire, mais aussi de la vie sentimentale difficile de Constant.

This volume contains 339 letters between 1806 and 1807. In this period, Constant edites Adolphe and writes both the tragedy Wallstein and his essay Principes de politique. His emotional life, particularly the resumption of his relationship to Charlotte von Hardenberg, features prominently in the correspondence, yet neither his family in Lausanne nor his friends in Paris and elsewhere are neglected. The correspondence also describes in detail important events of these years in which the Napoleonic Era reached its high point.

Ce volume contient 339 lettres. Constant, durant cette période, entreprend la rédaction d'Adolphe, écrit une tragédie, Wallstein, et un traité, les Principes de politique. Sa vie sentimentale, et notamment la reprise de sa relation avec Charlotte de Hardenberg, tient une place importante dans une correspondance qui ne néglige pas pour autant la famille lausannoise et les amis de Paris et d'ailleurs. On y lit aussi, en filigrane, les événements marquants de ces années où l'Empire napoléonien est triomphant.

The volume contains 422 letters. Constant marries Charlotte von Hardenberg, which leads to an estrangement from Germaine de Staël, his fellow-writer and mistress of long standing. In the letters from this period, political life takes a back seat, and after the appearance of Wallstein his literary creativity enters a dormant phase. The reader is confronted above all with Constant’s turbulent private life.

Ce volume contient 422 lettres. Benjamin Constant épouse Charlotte de Hardenberg et doit faire accepter l'évènement par Germaine de Staël. La vie politique passe donc pour lui au second plan tandis que ses travaux littéraires, après la publication de Wallstein, connaissent une pause. Le lecteur plonge, lui, dans l'intimité de personnages qui sont hors du commun.

This volume contains 305 letters covering three years of Constant’s life in which he finally experienced a happy marriage. However, these years were overshadowed by Germaine de Staël’s misfortune, by his enormous gambling losses and also by a dispute with his father which was to last until his father’s death. Constant left France and traveled to Switzerland and Germany, but he could not find the happiness he had hoped for ‑ not even in the seclusion of German libraries.

Ce volume contient 305 lettres qui couvrent trois années d'une vie de Benjamin Constant qui devrait connaître enfin le bonheur conjugal, mais est marquée par les malheurs de Germaine de Staël, d'énormes pertes au jeu et une querelle avec son père qui ne cessera qu'à la mort de celui-ci. Quittant la France pour la Suisse et l'Allemagne, Constant ne retrouvera pas dans le calme des bibliothèques allemandes le bonheur auquel il aspire.

Volume 9 of the Correspondance générale comprises 416 letters that Constant wrote or received between 1813 and 1815. They clearly illustrate his eagerness to start a career in French politics. While initially, he was stuck in the isolation and monotony of married life in Göttingen, his personal situation was further complicated in 1814/15 by his unrequited, passionate love for Juliette Récamier.

Ce neuvième volume de la Correspondance générale comprend 416 lettres écrites ou reçues par Constant au cours des années 1813–1815. Cette période commence pour lui dans la monotonie de la vie conjugale à Göttingen. Nous suivons les efforts d’un écrivain qui cherche à se forger une carrière politique en France. En 1814/15 sa vie se complique davantage encore lorsqu’il tombe follement amoureux de Juliette Récamier, qui ne répondra jamais à sa passion.

This tenth volume of the Correspondance générale, which covers the years 1816–1818, is a valuable document on the intellectual life of the period as well as on the relations of Benjamin Constant with his friends and family, on his literary activities (particularly, during a sojourn in England, the publication of Adolphe) and on his career as publicist and champion of political and civil liberties, after his return to Paris in September 1816.

Ce dixième volume de la Correspondance générale, qui couvre la période de 1816 à 1818, constitue un précieux document sur la vie intellectuelle de l’époque ainsi que sur les rapports de Constant avec ses amis et sa famille, sur ses activités littéraires (notamment la publication, pendant un séjour en Angleterre, d’Adolphe) et sur sa carrière de publiciste et défenseur des libertés politiques et civiles, dès son retour à Paris en septembre 1816.

This eleventh volume of the Correspondance générale, which covers the years 1819 and 1820, is a valuable document of the intellectual life of the period as well as the multiple activities of Benjamin Constant as député of the Sarthe, orator, journalist, publicist and champion of political and civil liberties during the second Restoration.

Cet onzième volume de la Correspondance générale comprend 473 lettres écrites au cours des années 1819 et 1820, époque où Constant, comme député de la Sarthe à partir de mars 1819, ajoute à sa réputation de journaliste et de publiciste celle de brillant orateur et de défenseur des principes des libéraux. Le présent volume constitue aussi un précieux document sur la vie intellectuelle et politique de l’époque, non seulement à Paris, mais aussi dans la Sarthe, grâce à l’abondante correspondance de Constant avec de nombreux habitants de ce département. Le lecteur y trouvera aussi des lettres intéressantes entre Constant et certains membres de sa famille, notamment celles de sa demi-sœur Louise, qui en décembre 1820 publie son premier roman Alphonse et Mathilde.

Cet onzième volume de la Correspondance générale, qui couvre les années 1819 et 1820, est un précieux document sur la vie intellectuelle de l’époque ainsi que sur l’activité politique de Benjamin Constant comme député de la Sarthe, orateur, journaliste, publiciste et défenseur des libertés politiques et civiles pendant la seconde Restauration.

The twelfth volume of the Correspondance générale comprises more than 400 letters written in 1821–1822, two years of intense parliamentary and journalistic activity for Constant. Like the previous volumes, it offers unique insights into the intellectual and political life of the time, as well as into Constant’s relationships with his friends and family.

The 13th volume of the Correspondance générale contains over 400 letters dating from 1823 and 1824. 1823 marks a pause in Constant's active political career, he focuses instead on putting the finishing touches to the 1st published volume of De la religion.

The fourteenth volume of the Correspondance générale contains over 400 letters dating from 1825 and 1826. As the reign of Charles X begins, Constant continues to work on De la religion, while engaging in the political struggles against the reactionary turn of domestic politics, thinking afresh about societal issues and supporting the Greeks in their fight for independence.

Ce volume réunit les lettres écrites par et à Benjamin Constant au cours de l’année 1827.

This volume brings together letters written by and to Benjamin Constant during 1828.