French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Crémieux, XXe Century
Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics
Benjamin Crémieux, XXe siècle
Paris: Gallimard, coll. Les Cahiers de la NRF
November 2010, 295 pages
- ISBN: 978-2-07-012933-1
- Price: €26.50
Publisher's overview:
Benjamin Crémieux was not part of the founding generation of La NRF; he joined the journal at Rivière's invitation in 1920.
Until the war, he remained one of its principal critics, contributing numerous reviews as well as more extensive articles on a wide array of subjects. Passionate about the theatre, he also served for a time as the journal's drama critic. A major mediator of contemporary Italian literature in France, he introduced the French public to Pirandello—becoming his official translator—as well as to Italo Svevo and many others.
Originally published in 1924, XXe siècle brings together the most essential critical essays Crémieux published in La NRF. The opening study, dedicated to Proust, is remarkable for its early grasp of the aesthetic principles and structure of a work whose publication was not yet complete. The remaining essays focus on contemporaries who, while perhaps not all holding the monumental status of Proust, are nonetheless remarkable.
Pierre Benoit no longer commands the towering stature once granted him by his staggering sales figures, but Crémieux's insights on Luc Durtain or Pierre Hamp should inspire us to rediscover these overlooked authors. His readings of Larbaud, Jules Romains, Jean Paulhan, and others are deeply fertile, reflecting a humanist methodology grounded in intellectual empathy with the author and a masterful command of their work.
As Crémieux wrote: "To criticize is to judge. But it is also to understand, to define, to identify." These essays met with great success, and Éditions Gallimard repeatedly promised a second volume that ultimately never saw the light of day. Crémieux wrote prolifically for numerous press outlets; as a member of the publishing house's reading committee, he was also a novelist, translator, lecturer, and secretary of the French PEN club.
His schedule was simply too full for his book publications not to suffer. While the recent opening of archives has not yielded all the texts promised for the second installment of XXe siècle, this edition is supplemented by critical essays on the Tharaud brothers and Edmond Jaloux. The text has been established and annotated by Catherine Helbert, who teaches at the University of Paris-Sorbonne. Her research focuses on the relationship between the press and French intellectuals during the interwar period; she has published articles in various journals and conference proceedings on Jean Prévost, Frédéric Lefèvre, and Benjamin Crémieux, among others, and has conducted research on the political and literary weekly Marianne.
During the interwar decades, periodicals like La NRF served as central arenas for literary debate, shaping canons and introducing foreign voices to the French public. Critics associated with these journals often balanced reviewing with translation, editing, and cultural mediation, bridging national traditions and fostering dialogue across European borders. This volume reflects that vibrant periodical culture, capturing how contemporary criticism engaged with both towering figures and overlooked novelists of the era through essays originally published in literary reviews.
Readers interested in French literary criticism of the interwar period or the history of La NRF may find this volume relevant. The text gathers Benjamin Crémieux's essays on contemporaries such as Proust, Valéry Larbaud, and Jules Romains, alongside his writings on Italian literature. Established and annotated by Catherine Helbert, the edition includes additional critical studies on the Tharaud brothers and Edmond Jaloux, providing insight into the critical landscape of twentieth-century French letters.