French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Corbin, La Fraîcheur de l'herbe
History, Politics and Society
La fraîcheur de l'herbe - Histoire d'une gamme d'émotions de l'Antiquité à nos jours
Alain Corbin
Publication date: 14/03/2018
Publisher: Fayard
ISBN: 978-2-213-68754-4
EAN: 9782213687544
Number of pages: 244 p.
Green is said to have a soothing quality. Looking at the balconies and rooftops of our buildings, and the sidewalks of our cities, modern city-dwellers are trying to learn from this. Greenery is reclaiming its place, as if answering a deep-seated desire to reconnect with lost emotions. Many have praised this sensory power of grass. From Lucretius to Petrarch, from Ronsard to George Sand, and from Lamartine to René Char, Alain Corbin paints a portrait of these tributes paid to grass in all its forms—whether as a single blade or a lush clump, wild or cultivated.
In doing so, we reconnect with familiar sensations: the joy of a child rolling in the grass, the invitation to rest after a picnic lunch, the scent of freshly cut hay, the buzzing of the meadow's tiny inhabitants, as well as the eroticism of a grassy bed, all the way to the profound peace inspired by the manicured turf of cemeteries. Guided by the literary quotations he illuminates with a historian's insight, Alain Corbin invites us on a sensory and verdant journey.
Alain Corbin is renowned for his pioneering work in the history of sensibilities, sensory perception, and the everyday environment. In this volume, he turns his historical lens toward a seemingly modest yet evocative subject: grass and meadows. By examining how writers across centuries have described the tactile, olfactory, and visual qualities of turf and hay, the book contributes to the broader tradition of cultural history that seeks to recover the lost emotional landscapes of past societies and their relationship with the natural world.
This accessible study will appeal to readers interested in environmental history, the evolution of human emotion, and the literary representation of nature. It offers valuable insights for scholars and general readers alike who wish to understand how Western perceptions of greenery have shifted from antiquity to the contemporary era. By connecting canonical literary texts with universal sensory experiences, the work helps us reflect on our enduring psychological need to reconnect with the natural environment and its quiet, restorative powers.