“Letters of Theresa, or Memoirs of a Young Lady from the Province about Her Staying in Paris” ( fr. Lettres de Thérèse ***, ou Mémoires d'une jeune demoiselle de province, pendant son séjour à Paris ) is a satirical novel of the abbot Bridard de la Garda Published anonymously in 1737 and reprinted several times.
| Theresa's Letters | |
|---|---|
| Lettres de thérèse | |
| Genre | Novel |
| Author | Bridard de la Garde, Philip |
| Original language | French |
Contents
The novel draws a wide panorama of metropolitan life and subtly shows the impression it makes on the heart and mind of a young provincial Teresa, devoid of the prejudices of secular society. The customs, adopted in the light of the world, seem ridiculous to Teresa; in her letters, she angrily mocks greedy financiers, flirtatious secular beauties, hypocritical and empty petimeters, and coddled and idle abbots. The end is sad: the heroine does not find happiness in Paris, the wounded malevolence of others makes her go back to her native province, closer to nature and naturalness, further from the glitter and emptiness of Parisian life.
The novel was included in the well-known “Register of Erotic Books” (Registrum Librorum Eroticorum, 1936).
Evaluation
In his correspondence, Voltaire notes that this is “one of the disgusting new novels written, it seems, for the entertainment of the palace lackeys by one of their companies” [1]