French Literature Reviews - 2026

The Art of the Preface in the Age of Enlightenment
Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics

In the Literary Theory Workshop: Entering the Novel: Notes on the Prefaces of Novels, by Nathalie Kremer

The Art of the Preface in the Age of Enlightenment
Edited by Ioana Galleron

PUR
Series: Interférences
2007
ISBN: 978-2-7535-0383-0
Price: 18 €

Following in the footsteps of several recent collective studies that reflect a growing interest in the peritext during the classical era, this volume—stemming from a conference held at the University of Southern Brittany in Lorient in November 2005—offers a complementary perspective on allographic prefaces in the Enlightenment. The studies gathered here highlight the increasingly scholarly orientation of the preface writer, who was evolving into the learned editor, often an academic, that we know today. We witness a genuine and progressive autonomization of the preface, which increasingly tends to function as an independent text, potentially detachable from the works it was meant to introduce. Yet, despite this trend toward professionalization—which might imply a pursuit of objectivity—18th-century preface writers continued to use introductory material as a public platform. As passionate as they were learned, these third parties, who shared responsibility for the work, made sure their own voices were heard. By deciphering the various standpoints from which this re-presentation of the text is undertaken, this volume offers fascinating insights into the intellectual concerns and debates of the Enlightenment.
Ioana Galleron, who edited this volume, is a senior lecturer at the University of Southern Brittany.

CONTENTS
Ioana GALLERON: Introduction
Nathalie KREMER: Prefaces: State of the Art, from Presentation to Representation
Jan HERMAN: The Scenography of Prefaces

Part 1
UNDER THE PREFACE WRITER'S MASK
Michel HENRICHOT: The Steps of Parnassus: Boileau as Preface Writer of His Complete Works
Zeina HAKIM: Prefaces, Editors, and Enunciative Instances in *La Vie de Marianne* and *Manon Lescaut*
Laetitia PERRET: The Paradoxical Success of a Militant Preface: D'Alembert’s *Éloge de Montesquieu*
Norbert COL: The Self-Preface to *A Vindication of Natural Society* (1757): Burke as Fake Scholarly Editor
Malcolm COOK: Bernardin de Saint-Pierre Discusses His Novel: The Prefaces to *Paul et Virginie*
Marie-Emmanuelle PLAGNOL-DIEVAL: Madame de Genlis as Editor: Prefaces, Texts, and Pretexts
Alexandre STROEV: Gabriel Sénac de Meilhan, Editor of Forgeries
Claire BOUSSEL: The Perception of the Great Man in the Prefatory Texts of Two Dictionaries: One Completed, by the Académie Française (1798 ed.), the Other Left Embryonic, by Rivarol

Part 2
PREFATORY GAMES AND STAKES
Sarah HARVEY: Tales of Publication, Tales of a Publicist: On Several Prefatory Discourses in the *Mercure galant*
Anna ARZOUMANOV: The Printed Keys to the *Mémoires secrets pour servir à l’histoire de Perse*: From Scandalous Pamphlet to Scholarly Pre-text
Charlotte SIMONIN: Ladies First? Male Peritexts of Female Works
Anouchka VASAK: Gleaning and Scavenging: The Secondhand Dealer’s Pretext
Nicole MASSON: The Editors of the Abbé de Lattaignant
Ioana GALLERON: The Useless Preface: The Abbé de La Porte as a Theatre Editor

Part 3
LEARNED PREFACES
Céline MASBOU: Father Brumoy’s Prefaces in *Le Théâtre des Grecs*
Annie COINTRE: Translators of English Novels and Their Prefaces
Annie RIVARA: Four Prefatory Discourses: The Translations of *Tom Jones* (1751, 1788, 1794, 1804)
Delphine VIELLARD: The Prefaces of Claudian's Translators Between 1650 and 1800
Greta KAUCHER: The Jombert Family of Booksellers and Publishers and Their Prefaces to Scientific Works
Jean-Noël PASCAL: On the Prefaces of the First Commented Editions of Racine, from Luneau de Boisjermain (1768) to Étienne Aignan (1824)

The study of the peritext, or the elements surrounding a published work, has become a significant area of inquiry within Enlightenment studies. This volume, stemming from a conference held in 2005, explores a period where introductory material began to shift from simple presentation to a more complex, independent form of discourse. This evolution reflects the professionalization of the literary field during the 18th century, as the role of the preface writer increasingly aligned with that of the learned editor, balancing the demands of objectivity with the personal engagement of the writer.

The contributions examine how these introductory texts served as public platforms for intellectual debate and the negotiation of authority. By examining examples ranging from translations of English novels to the editorial practices of dictionaries and theatrical works, the volume illustrates the strategies employed by writers to frame their texts. Readers interested in the history of publishing and the development of editorial practices in the Age of Enlightenment may find this collection relevant, as it highlights the tension between the preface as a scholarly apparatus and its function as a space for subjective expression.