Lettres à une inconnue, Tome Deuxième by Prosper Mérimée

(12 User reviews)   5704
By Nicholas Ortiz Posted on Dec 25, 2025
In Category - Justice Studies
Mérimée, Prosper, 1803-1870 Mérimée, Prosper, 1803-1870
French
Ever wondered what it's like to get a peek at someone else's private letters? This book gives you exactly that, but with a twist. It's the second volume of letters from the French writer Prosper Mérimée to a woman whose identity remains a complete mystery. We don't know who she was or what she wrote back. All we have are his words—sometimes charming, often frustrated, always revealing. It’s a one-sided conversation full of wit, longing, and intellectual sparring. If you love historical gossip, complex characters, and a puzzle that's never solved, this collection is a fascinating and strangely intimate read.
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the sake of the student one or two passages have been omitted. Much work has been left to be done by those who read the play as prepared. The Spanish-English vocabulary is limited in most cases to defining the word as it occurs in the text, and frequently only an approximation of the meaning has been attempted. For instance, the English equivalents of the same Latin origin as the sonorous Spanish terms that are used so naturally by the man-servant Bruno and the garrulous Nicolasa would be strangers to the lips of English-speaking individuals of corresponding station. There has been added a series of questions and topics (Preguntas y Temas) that may serve as suggestions for exercises in composition. The questions follow the thread of the story, but they are not meant to be exhaustive, while the number of topics for descriptive paragraphs or additional dialogue can readily be increased. Instead of the usual biographical data collected from many sources and presented to the student in English, selections have been taken from a life-sketch of Gorostiza written by the distinguished Mexican Roa Bárcena, who secured his information from Gorostiza's son. Naturally the biographer has thrown into high relief the part which Gorostiza took in the interesting events that occurred in Europe and in the New World during his lifetime. We are mainly concerned with Gorostiza the dramatist. Next to Juan Ruiz de Alarcón (1581?-1639), Mexico honors him as her greatest modern representative in the dramatic field. Furthermore, the play "Contigo Pan y Cebolla" is given first place on the list of his many literary achievements. This play the reader is left to gauge by his own standards. No two individual opinions will be exactly alike, and the judgment of non-Spanish critics will naturally be different from that formed by those to whom Spanish is the native tongue. By good fortune there is available a criticism of "Contigo Pan y Cebolla" written by Mariano José de Larra, and to serve as a guide there have been included here a few paragraphs from the pen of this contemporary of Gorostiza, who was the foremost Spanish satirist and dramatic critic of his time. Thus the reader has before him specimens of the prose writings of three distinguished men. All three write in Spanish; yet all three differ in style and in temperament. To those readers in America who have hitherto looked for the best things with a backward glance there should be a certain significance in the fact that two of these writers are of Mexican birth. E. McG. BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA CONTENTS NOTICIA BIOGRÁFICA _José M. Roa Bárcena_ CRÍTICA DE CONTIGO PAN Y CEBOLLA _M.J. de Larra_ CONTIGO PAN Y CEBOLLA TEXT NOTES EXERCISES VOCABULARY NOTICIA BIOGRÁFICA Gorostiza nació en nuestro puerto de Veracruz el 13 de octubre de 1789, de una familia española distinguida, cuyo jefe, el general D. Pedro de Gorostiza, vino a la Nueva España con el segundo Conde de Revillagigedo, de quien era pariente o amigo, a encargarse del mando civil y militar de aquella plaza. Su madre, D.ª María del Rosario Cepeda, contaba entre sus ascendientes a Santa Teresa de Jesús, y había heredado su ingenio y afición al estudio, de que dió buenas pruebas en Cádiz. Muerto D. Pedro en 1794, la viuda regresó a Madrid con tres hijos, siendo nacidos en España D. Francisco, en quien debía recaer el mayorazgo, y D. Pedro Ángel, después matemático notable y a quien como literato elogia D. Eugenio de Ochoa en el _Tesoro del Teatro Español_. El menor, nuestro D. Manuel, habiendo recogido el primero los bienes patrimoniales y...

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This isn't a novel with a traditional plot. Lettres à une inconnue, Tome Deuxième is exactly what the title says: letters to an unknown woman. Picking up where the first volume left off, it's another batch of real correspondence from Mérimée, a 19th-century French writer and historian, to a mysterious female recipient. We read his side of a years-long conversation filled with literary chatter, social observations, personal confessions, and a persistent, complicated affection. The 'story' is the unfolding of this unique relationship solely through his voice.

Why You Should Read It

I was hooked by the sheer humanity of it. Stripped of her replies, Mérimée's letters become a self-portrait. You see his intellect, his vanity, his loneliness, and his genuine struggle to connect. It's like listening to one end of a phone call and piecing together the whole relationship. The mystery of the 'inconnue' (unknown woman) isn't just a gimmick; it makes you an active participant. You start reading between the lines, guessing at her personality based on how he reacts. It’s a masterclass in character revealed through voice.

Final Verdict

Perfect for readers who love history, psychology, and a bit of literary detective work. If you enjoy epistolary novels like Dangerous Liaisons or the feeling of discovering a secret diary, you'll be captivated. It's not a fast-paced adventure, but a slow, rich, and curiously moving look at a friendship—or perhaps something more—frozen in time. A true gem for anyone who believes the most interesting stories are often the real ones.



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Jessica Jackson
1 month ago

From the very first page, the character development leaves a lasting impact. Thanks for sharing this review.

Donald Smith
1 year ago

Recommended.

Matthew Brown
1 year ago

My professor recommended this, and I see why.

Logan Hill
1 year ago

After finishing this book, it provides a comprehensive overview perfect for everyone. A valuable addition to my collection.

Andrew Nguyen
11 months ago

As someone who reads a lot, the narrative structure is incredibly compelling. A true masterpiece.

4.5
4.5 out of 5 (12 User reviews )

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