Did you know that archives from nearly 80 French authors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries are held in the Library's Archives and Special Collections? To mark the Mois de la francophonie, we are delighted to announce that this collection is now fully digitized and can be viewed online.
The French Manuscripts Collection brings together often unpublished materials, including literary manuscripts, correspondence, pamphlets, photographs, and a few drawings. It offers a rich and varied representation of several major literary movements, such as Romanticism, Realism, Symbolism, and Surrealism.
Among this incredible collection are documents by Jean Cocteau, Gustave Flaubert, Victor Hugo, Guy de Maupassant, Francis Picabia, Marcel Proust and Paul Verlaine, to name but a few.
Now is your chance to discover the correspondence of Émile Zola, read the notes from a lecture by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, or admire a photo of Colette's pets!
- Learn more: Listen to the episode of our podcast “Trésors d’archives” that focuses on the French manuscript collection and the manuscript of the novel Mademoiselle Merquem by the great French Romantic writer George Sand (March 2025). Please note that “Trésors d’archives” is available in French only.