A little unique gem from the hand of Julien Gracq has been discovered. Written between 1946 and 1951, this short story, The House, is not a sketch. Its great beauty and power of fascination recall the famous The The banks of the Syrtes written at the same time, Prix Goncourt refused by its author in 1951. We find here Gracq’s talent for describing and working on dense and mysterious waiting; this impetus stretched towards a fantasized and forbidden elsewhere. A note of intent entitled “La maison des coppices”, a first manuscript and a clearing made it possible to establish the text. These three autograph documents are reproduced at the end of the volume, in facsimile (they should have been printed in real size, because they are difficult to decipher in reduced size).
