The Memories secrecies to be used for the history of the Republic of the Letters in France since 1762 until our days is an anonymous chronicle of the events which have occurred between 1762 and 1787.

It is one of the most abundant sources and most famous for the history of second half of. One finds many curious anecdotes there.

“In the center of the most extreme debates during a quarter century, which they are the fight against the Jesuits, the parliamentary opposition, resounding lawsuits like that of the business of the collar of the queen, or of the emergence of new esthetics: that of the middle-class drama, the opera gluckist, the theater of Shakespeare, they return account, almost from day to day, in a committed or distanciée way, made indignant or sarcastic, of the transitory or major movements of a public opinion constituting itself. ”

Authors

It would seem that Bachaumont was only one figurehead. It is probably its secretary Pidansat de Mairobert who wrote the first volumes published starting from 1777. Then with its death, two years later, Mouffle of Angerville would have taken over. Success is enormous, so much so that this last benefits from it to add at the end of each book of the additions concerning the previous years, using the notes left by its predecessors.

In 1830, Ravenel gave an edition critical and reasoned for the first 4 volumes. Paul Lacroix gave a summary in 1858 of it. An Alphabetical table of the authors and characters quoted in the Mémoires secrecies appeared in Brussels in 1866. It is essential tools to locate itself in the whole of work.

A new critical edition is in hand.

Random links:

Gerard Nets | Small violet | Nico Rosberg | Canton of Turn-Is | A cocktail of hell