| 4/6/1839 |
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Stendhal's 52-Day Novel
On this day in 1839, Stendhal's last novel appeared in French bookshops, the product of fifty-two days of total seclusion and continuous dictation. The aging author had started using a copyist-secretary in 1835, when eyeglasses had become a necessity. This marathon session resulted in The Charterhouse of Parma -- "the collected and embellished memories of a man who is waiting to die." |
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