[ALAIN-FOURNIER] RIVIERE (Jacques) - Lot 1

[ALAIN-FOURNIER] RIVIERE (Jacques) Born in Bordeaux. 1886–1925. Man of letters, editor of *La Nouvelle Revue française*. A friend of Alain-Fournier, with whom he exchanged extensive correspondence, he became his brother-in-law through his marriage to Alain-Fournier’s sister Isabelle. Autograph letter signed “Jacques Rivière” to “Dear Sir” [the writer Louis Artus]. No place, no date [Tuesday], 1 p., 3/4 in-8. ... I will have a copy of Alain-Fournier’s *Miracles* sent to you; your thoughtfulness toward him, back when you were in charge of the Larousse collection, had touched me so deeply...The son of a prominent doctor from Bordeaux, Jacques Rivière became friends with Alain-Fournier (1886–1914) while attending the Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux, where both were preparing for the entrance exam to the École normale supérieure. On August 24, 1908, he married Alain-Fournier’s younger sister, Isabelle (1889–1971), with whom he had two children. Initially a contributor to *L’Occident*, he became editorial secretary of the *Nouvelle Revue française* in 1911. Drafted in 1914 into the 220th Infantry Regiment, he was taken prisoner on August 24, during the very first skirmishes. Seriously ill, he was transferred to Switzerland in 1917 and interned there until the end of the war. In the aftermath of the conflict, he considered reviving the NRF, whose publication had been suspended. Under his new leadership, it reappeared in June 1919. Rivière demonstrated remarkable editorial skills by publishing works by Marcel Proust, François Mauriac, Paul Valéry, and Louis Aragon. In 1919, he received the Blumenthal Prize. He wrote only one short psychological novel, *Aimée*, published in 1922. After his death, his wife Isabelle devoted herself to publishing his works, along with those of his brother Alain-Fournier. Louis Artus (1870–1960) was a French writer.