French Literature Reviews - 2026

Alphonse de Lamartine, Confidences. New Confidences. Edited by Pietro De Marco, translated by Ivanna Rosi.
Novel and Narrative Prose

Since the last quarter of the 19th century, the work of the great Romantic poet Alphonse de Lamartine, author of Méditations poétiques (1820), has undeservedly fallen into relative obscurity. Only recently has scholarship returned to his poetry, as well as his equally significant narrative and critical works. The prose of the Confidences and New Confidences (1849–50), which forms the foundational bedrock of the vast autobiographical edifice Lamartine constructed over the years, had not been entirely forgotten, though it was remembered almost exclusively for the Neapolitan romance episode, Graziella. Graziella has enjoyed numerous translations, including in Italy, and is not included in this edition. As a whole, however, the Confidences have not been presented to the Italian reading public since the early 20th century, and the New Confidences have never been translated at all. Readers will discover here an imaginative yet truthful portrayal of childhood and youth that maintains—despite hardships and travels—an enduring connection to its emotional core: the Burgundian province, the family estates of Mâcon and Milly (the latter surrounded by its vineyards, farmhands, and animals). This central landscape is brought to life by the extraordinary figure of a mother.

The perspective encompasses an extensive minor noble family branching from the south to Paris, embodying a liberal spirit inherited from 18th-century culture and opposed to the Napoleonic dictatorship. The writing shifts dynamically between the “Tacitean” vigor of Lamartine’s historical prose and the sweeping, undulating sentences that accumulate impressions of nature and human faces, rivaling the celebrated lyricism of the poet's verse. Reintroducing this body of work today offers a true rediscovery to which readers are warmly invited.

Alphonse de Lamartine occupies a central place in the French Romantic movement, best known for establishing a new lyrical register with works like Méditations poétiques. Alongside his poetry, nineteenth-century French literature saw the development of extensive autobiographical prose, in which writers sought to capture the evolution of the self against the backdrop of changing political landscapes and familial heritage. The prose writings of this period frequently engaged with the transition from the Enlightenment legacy to the complexities of nineteenth-century society, balancing personal recollection with broader historical reflections.

This volume presents the prose of the Confidences and New Confidences, capturing a portrayal of childhood and youth anchored in the Burgundian province and the family estates of Mâcon and Milly. The text features an extensive minor noble family embodying a liberal spirit rooted in eighteenth-century culture and opposed to the Napoleonic dictatorship. The writing shifts between historical prose and sweeping sentences that accumulate impressions of nature and human faces, reflecting the lyricism of the poet's verse. Readers interested in French Romantic autobiography and nineteenth-century narrative prose may find this publication relevant.