Constantin Guys et ses éditoriaux: étude analytique et établissement du texte des éditoriaux by Harry Cockerham (review)

An initial survey I undertook for the Transnational Network for the Study of Foreign Language Press (Transfopress) showed that, during the nineteenth century, over a hundred periodicals written in French (or, at least, also in French) were printed and circulated in the United Kingdom. Occupying a grey area between two monumental national presses, many of these frequently short-lived French-language papers are often understudied, endangered, or even lost, despite the fact that some of them played a crucial role in the cultural mediation between the two countries. Recently, however, this neglected area of research is gaining deserved attention. Harry Cockerham's self-published critical anthology of editorials putatively authored by Constantin Guys is a useful addition to this field of enquiry, and a valuable resource for scholars of the nineteenth century, especially those interested in Franco-British relations. Between May and November 1851, the celebrated 'peintre de la vie moderne' directed, from the British capital, The Illustrated London News en français (ILNF), a weekly French-language supplement intended to report on the Great Exhibition. Although the periodical is seemingly absent from the British Library's catalogue, Cockerham finds twenty-seven issues of the ILNF at the now closed Colindale site, adding: 'jusqu'à nouvel avis, il faut supposer que les vingt-sept numéros […] n'eurent pas de suite' (p. 19). It should be signalled, however, that the Bodleian Library, according to their records, preserves twenty-eight issues, spanning 3 May to 8 November. Cockerham's book opens with a short Introduction and an informative 'Étude analytique' surveying a selection of historical sources, including one of Guys's letters to the Directeur de la librairie au Ministère de l'intérieur, which provides a list of contributors, including Jules Janin, Émile Forgues, Alphonse Karr, and many other protagonists of the nineteenth-century literary and journalistic scenes. Although the painter's name is completely absent from the periodical — perhaps unsurprising for this 'grand amoureux de la foule et de l'incognito' (quoting Baudelaire, p. 37) — Cockerham advances the hypothesis that all the editorials here collected (with the mere exception of one) are written by Guys. Once persuaded of this suggestion, one cannot avoid finding, in these writings, the hallmarks of the artist's modern gaze and his love of the crowd. The editorial of 12 July 1851, devoted to Her Majesty's participation in the ball in the Guildhall, is a testimony of both: 'On a par ces temps-ci adressé bien des reproches au gaz; […] il faut bien convenir […] que les reflets qu'il projette sur toutes les figures de cette foule produisent un effet pittoresque et inattendu' (p. 74). Even a different authorship would not detract from the historical interest of this volume, which comprises opinion pieces on topics ranging from delicate geopolitical issues to literary exchanges, from trade to cultural commentary of sorts, to the promotion of ideals of progress, freedom, and peace: 'Le Palais de Cristal a masqué la vue de Waterloo!' (p. 117). European reconciliation has indeed been a long and complex journey. In these times of Brexit, these nineteenth-century idealistic views offer some sobering scope for reflection.