Éric Rohmer's Only Novel 'Élisabeth' Published in English for the First Time

Éric Rohmer's only novel, 'Élisabeth,' has been published in English for the first time, translated by Aaron Kerner and released by McNally Editions. Rohmer began writing the novel in 1939 at age eighteen and completed it in the summer of 1944, amid the liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation. Published by Gallimard in 1946 under the pseudonym Gilbert Cordier, it sold poorly and received no reviews. The novel is set in August 1939, just before World War II, and follows Michel Landeau, an engineer in his early twenties, who is engaged to Irène Bergmann, a widow. The story revolves around their relationship and Michel's internal conflicts, including a sexual assault scene that leads to a breakup. Rohmer's literary style is described as modernist, with a cubistic narrative structure, dense description, and psychological nuance. The novel's publication failure prompted Rohmer to turn to cinema, where he became a leading figure of the French New Wave. The English edition includes an afterword with an interview where Rohmer discusses writing the novel while bullets flew past his window. The novel's themes of desire, social artifice, and obliviousness to political catastrophe prefigure his later films.