Historical references: Prévert, Hugo, Tocqueville, Barbey d'Aurevilly
It was not until the early 1970s that Jacques Prévert moved to the Hague. Until then, he spent most of his time between the capital and Antibes. On the advice of his decorator friend Alexandre Trauner, he bought a house in the small village of Omonville-la-Petite, which he loved instantly. He continued to write there, finding in the Hague a setting conducive to his creativity, but also to collage, until his death in 1977. Buried in the small village cemetery, his house is the setting for a lovely visit. A little further on, a garden, which bears the artist's name, mixes rare and local species in a sumptuous setting.
Victor Hugo visited the English Channel from south to north during the summer of 1836, and came away with contrasting impressions: he was amazed by the Mont-Saint-Michel, a little less by Avranches and Cherbourg, which he discovered at night, at a time when public lighting did not exist. From this trip he wrote several poems: L'Été à Coutances, À Granville en 1836 or Près d'Avranches. From his time in Barneville, he retained the figure of the local peasant women, who inspired the character of Toussaint in Les Misérables. During this period, he obviously did not know that he was going to have to live in exile a few miles from the English Channel, in Jersey and then Guernsey, sixteen years later. Decided following the publication of his pamphlet Napoleon the Lesser, his life on the Channel Islands will be among the most prolific periods of the author. The memory of Hugo remains alive today in the department, so much so that the departmental council proposes to follow the footsteps of the poet via a dedicated application.
If many celebrate here the politician Alexis de Tocqueville (he was a deputy of the Manche in the 19th century, President of the General Council and one of the architects of the Paris - Cherbourg railroad line), others forget that he was also a prolific author on subjects related to the functioning of the State: Lettres choisies et souvenirs, L'Ancien Régime et la Révolution or the Mémoires sur le paupérisme.
Barbey d'Aurevilly was born in Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte in 1808 and died in Paris in 1889. He is the author of a particularly prolix work, and touching many fields: novelist, journalist and literary critic, he also writes multiple poems. Sharp, Barbey d'Aurevilly arouses ambivalent feelings: Flaubert and Hugo (who did not take into account his geographical proximity!) openly mocked him, others praised his talent.
The contemporary era
Many contemporary authors also form a vast cultural framework. They are known locally, but rarely beyond: the local authors are numerous, and allow literature here to have a very vast offer in the matter: thus the novels and essays of Michel Besnier, the writings so right of the Goncourt prize native Didier Decoin, the books of Dominique Gros or Michel Giard: the list is long. Although she is not from here, the author Muriel Barbery, whose book L'Élégance du hérisson (The Elegance of the Hedgehog ) was a worldwide success in the 2000s, taught for several years in Saint-Lô. Closer still, the immense success of Claudie Gallay's Déferlantes is set in the Hague. Finally, Gilles Perrault, the author of The Red Sweater, lives in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, and never misses an opportunity to talk about the area. Today, the richness of the literary production in the Manche region can be distinguished according to two types of works: those which evoke the past of the places, and the novels, which take as a framework various places of the department. To find these books - beyond the ease of the Internet - you will have to go to one of the many local bookshops. Most of them have a few books by local authors: you will find a list of these places in the guide. Finally, note that there is no such thing as a local style: the prose is specific to each author, who will define the places, the moods and the atmospheres according to his or her own desires.
The unclassifiable
They are not known beyond the Channel or, although originating here, their writings are not inspired by the department. In the first category, we find for example Cotis-Capel. A man of many activities, he was a priest, but also a fisherman. He died in 1986, leaving behind a poetic work in local language, gathered in several collections: Rôcales, Raz-Bannes or Les Cotis which evoke the life here. Several streets and buildings bear his name in the department. In another register, Roland Barthes, philosopher and semiologist born in Cherbourg, became famous in the last years of his life, with the publication of Fragments d'un discours amoureux in 1977. The book, largely based on the author's experience, remains a reference for many students. In this category, we will also classify the talented and late Jean Teulé, born in Saint-Lô, who died in October 2022, and who, in addition to many novels, created many comic strips well known to fans.
Numerous events..
There are many opportunities to meet authors, or to attend conferences on these themes. Pêle-mêle, there are the book fairs of Valognes or Torigni-les-Villes, the festival of the book of youth and the comic strip of Cherbourg, the event cleverly entitled "Ancres et encres" in Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue: the list is long.
... and prices that are just as high
The tradition of awards and prizes for literary works is strong. Among the most famous is the Alexis de Tocqueville prize, which rewards a person committed to the defense of public liberties, but also the Cotentin literary prize, whose objective is to highlight local authors, or those who have highlighted the territory of the peninsula. There is also the Jean-Follain prize, awarded every two years to a poetic prose, and to its author, in Saint-Lô. Obviously, the list is not exhaustive!
