Mon Frere Yves
1883
Pierre Loti
Paris : Calmann-Lévy
French
Autobio Fiction
395pp
Gay Men, Nautical
And yet, to see us now, who would ever suspect us of dreaming with our eyes open, merely because night is closing round, and the woods are so silent?
Summary
My Brother Yves in English. A semi-autobiographical novel of Loti's time as a French naval officer. The character of the alcoholic Breton sailor, Yves Kermade, was based on Pierre le Cor, a man whom Loti sailed with in the 70s.
More Info
Several key passages in Proust's Remembrance of Things Past/In Search of Lost Time were inspired by Mon Frere Yves.
Wikipedia cites that the book is not homoerotic but Loti, who has written several other homoerotic books such as Aziyadé (1879), apparently claimed otherwise.
Also see:
"Portraying male same-sex desire in nineteenth-century French literature: Pierre Loti's Aziyadé" (1998) by Richard M. Berrong
In Love with a Handsome Sailor: The Emergence of Gay Identity and the Novels of Pierre Loti (2003) by Richard M. Berrong
Sex, Sailors and Colonies: Narratives of Ambiguity in the Works of Pierre Loti (2005) by Hélène de Burgh
Content & Trigger Warnings
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Editions
Paris : Calmann Lévy (1883) 20 copies on Holland paper, one seen at Sothebys.
London : Vizetelly & Company (1887) tr. Mary P. Fletcher. 240pp.
New York : Frederick A. Stokes (1900) as A Tale of Brittany. tr. W.P. Baines. 301pp. DJ cover seen at Columbia Books on Abebooks.
London : T. Werner Laurie, Ltd (1928) as A Tale of Brittany. 301pp. with colored plates by Mortimer Menpes. DJ cover seen at Boundless Bookstore on Abebooks.
Rosedog Press (2004) tr. John LeVay. 236pp.