CÉLINE (Louis-Ferdinand Destouches, known as Louis-Ferdinand).
Autograph letter signed "LFC" [to Charles Deshayes]. [Klarskovgaard near Korsør, Denmark], "le 18" [October 1949]. 2 pp. large folio, envelope preserved.
"My dear friend, certainly this letter must be inserted in your book, if it appears! I'm going to send you the 2nd canaillerie de l'Huma. Excellent to publish with commentary... Proof of mischief. THE DENOËL GANG OF CROOKED FAKE HEIRS IS SUING ME FOR FORGERY! And I haven't received a single copy of this new VOYAGE! The newspapers don't forget to add Bagatelles (rallying jackals). There was never any question of BAGATELLES! In fact, I think it's just a publicity stunt by the desperate Denoël gang, who are crying "thief!" to the public prosecutor's office to conceal their scheme! They've been secretly selling off my books on the black market for 7 years! [Guy] Tosi, their literary director, confessed this to me when he came to see me here 3 years ago... We sell to reliable booksellers... (his own words) and Tosi came to pick me up FEERIE! By plane!..."
A YOUNG JOURNALIST FROM LYON, CELINE'S FOUGHTFUL ADMIRATOR, CHARLES DESHAYES was eager to defend the man he called "cher grand maître". Having made contact with Céline through the lawyer Albert Naud, he led a press campaign in his favor, sought out a publisher willing to republish his work, and above all, in March 1950, embarked on a project for a book-length plea entitled L'Affaire Céline: Céline encouraged him for a while, before becoming annoyed by his clumsiness and, above all, worrying about additional unwelcome publicity. Their relationship cooled, then ceased altogether in March 1951.
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