Fictional Interlude

[amie-de-rimbaud.livejournal.com]

Bonsoir citoyens--

I apologize for my lack of posts over the last few months. I have recently begun graduate school, which has sapped my energy almost completely (but it is great, I love it). I have been, however, checking this site periodically, and I have enjoyed reading the discussions although not having participated in them.

If you all remember, my revolutionary drug of choice is dear, dear Camille. This past summer, I was seriously dedicated to a certain project--of writing a novel about his life--which I started on, deeply in earnest. I completed a few chapters. Productivity has since tapered off, and, in conjunction with a sad realization that this project will never reach fruition (at least in the form of a straightforward Life of Camille), I have given it up almost entirely.

However, I am not displeased with some things that I have written, especially the first chapter, in which we find Camille at eleven years old, still trapped in Guise, on the brink of entering Louis-le-Grand on scholarship.

In any case, I posted this chapter (about 10 pp., single-spaced, Microsoft Word) in my journal, if you care to give it a read. I spent no little amount of time on it, so it should be worth your while, I should hope, at least for the language and style. Biographically, I was using Jacques Janssens’ brilliant text as my source of fact--the Prince of Condé episode is entirely rooted in truth (ear-pulling and all), while the Jean-Baptiste story is my own imaginative addition. I took pains to include all the Desmoulins family members, at least in passing.

Feedback would be appreciated, but mostly I just hope that you enjoy it.