French Existentialism Albert Maquet’s Critical Biography of Albert Camus, 1958

Albert Maquet

Book

Maquet, Albert. Albert Camus: The Invincible Summer, 1958, offers an early critical study of the Algerian-born French novelist, essayist, dramatist, and philosopher one year after he received the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature. Maquet examines the intellectual and literary development behind Camus’s writing, situating works concerned with absurdity, revolt, moral responsibility, political violence, and human solidarity within the author’s life and historical environment. Published during Camus’s lifetime, the book belongs to the first generation of sustained assessments of his international significance and supports research into French existentialism, postwar European literature, Nobel Prize reception, and the contemporary formation of Camus’s literary reputation.

Maquet, Albert. Albert Camus: The Invincible Summer. Translated from the French by Herma Briffault. New York: George Braziller, Inc., 1958. First American edition, first printing. The study combines biography with literary and philosophical criticism, following Camus’s development as a writer while interpreting the ideas that unite his fiction, essays, drama, and political commentary. Its title draws upon Camus’s image of discovering an “invincible summer” within himself amid winter, a phrase associated with endurance and inward resistance. The English translation appeared in 1958 in a 224-page edition published by George Braziller.

One volume. 224 pages, including bibliographical references. Hardcover in dust jacket. Octavo, measuring approximately 5¾ by 8½ inches. Issued only a year after Camus received the Nobel Prize and two years before his death, the book preserves a contemporary interpretation formed before his reputation became shaped by decades of posthumous scholarship. Light wear consistent with age and use; no specific defects to the binding, text block, or dust jacket are reported. Very good condition. An early English-language critical biography documenting the reception of Camus at the height of his international literary prominence.

Item #16882

Price: $55.00