Chapter 1

PAGE

MADAME DE STAEL AND CHATEAUBRIAND 1

Reasons for beginning with Mme. de Stael--_Delphine_--The tone--The story--_Corinne_--Its improved conditions--An illustrated edition of it--The story--The character of Nelvil--And the book's absurdities--Compensations: Corinne herself--Nelvil again--Its aesthetics--The author's position in the History of the Novel--Chateaubriand: his peculiar position as a novelist--And the remarkable interconnection of his works in fiction--_Atala_--_Rene_--Difference between its importance and its merit--_Les Natchez_--_Les Martyrs_--The story--Its "panoramic" quality--And its remarkable advance in style--Chateaubriand's Janus-position in this--Illustrated.