French Literature Reviews - 2026

È. Rabaté, La Revue Commerce. L'esprit «classique moderne» (1924-1932)
Other Literary Studies

Ève Rabaté, La Revue Commerce. L'esprit «classique moderne» (1924-1932)

Paris: Classiques Garnier, coll. "Études de littérature des XXe et XXIe siècles", 2012

EAN 9782812407925.

801 p.

Price: 69 EUR

Publisher's overview:

Commerce, a literary journal founded in 1924 by Marguerite Caetani, takes the form of twenty-nine "quarterly notebooks published under the care of" Valéry, Fargue, and Larbaud. It proudly holds its own in the competitive landscape of the literary reviews of the 1920s. Playing a crucial role as a "discoverer", Commerce opened its pages to the finest contemporary foreign authors while rediscovering major classical texts: through its "modern classical" spirit, Commerce reinvented the classical heritage.

The journal Commerce emerged during a period of intense activity for French literary periodicals, a medium that served as a primary site for intellectual exchange and the consolidation of aesthetic movements throughout the early twentieth century. This study examines the publication founded in 1924 by Marguerite Caetani, with the editorial support of Valéry, Fargue, and Larbaud, situating it within the competitive landscape of the literary reviews of the 1920s.

The concept of a modern classical spirit reflects a recurring tendency in French letters to reconcile contemporary innovation with the preservation and reinterpretation of established literary heritage. By balancing the introduction of international voices with the republication of classical texts, the journal participated in a wider effort to redefine the boundaries of the canon during the interwar years. Readers interested in the history of literary journals and the evolution of twentieth-century editorial practices may find this examination of the twenty-nine quarterly notebooks relevant to their research.