Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe

Lore & Background

Chateaubriand decided to write his memoirs while in Rome at the close of 1803, but did not begin writing until 1809. The first manuscript, probably written while he was serving as ambassador to London, reached completion in 1826, at which point he intended to entitle the book Memories of My Life. In 1830, he changed the scope, revising the title to Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe and writing several new volumes. He divided his life before 1830 into three periods: soldier and traveler, novelist, and statesman. After fragmented public readings of his work in salons, in 1836 Chateaubriand yielded the rights to his work to a society that published it until his death, paying him accordingly. Having obtained this economic stability, he completed the work with a fourth set of volumes. In 1841 he wrote an ample conclusion and kept revising parts of the work until 1847. Chateaubriand originally intended for the work to be published at least fifty years after his death, but his financial troubles forced him, in his words, 'to mortgage [his] tomb'.

Reader's Guide

Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe is a foundational work of French Romanticism, notable for its poetic prose and its influence on the young Romantics, including Victor Hugo, who wrote: 'I will be Chateaubriand or nothing.' The memoir shares characteristics with earlier French memoirs, such as those of Saint-Simon, but also draws on the Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau by including details of private life and personal aspirations. The work's melancholy tone helped establish Chateaubriand as the idol of young French Romantics. Its publication history reflects Chateaubriand's financial struggles, as he was forced to publish during his lifetime despite a desire for a fifty-year posthumous delay. English translations include an abridged translation by Robert Baldick published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1961 and in paperback by Penguin Books in 1972; a complete translation by Anthony Kline in 2005; and a New York Review Books edition translated by Alex Andriesse, with volume 1 (1768–1800) published in 2018, volume 2 (1800–1815) on September 27, 2022, and volume 3 (1815–1830) on December 2, 2025.

Did You Know?

• Chateaubriand decided to write his memoirs while in Rome at the close of 1803, but did not begin writing until 1809.
• The first manuscript, probably written while he was serving as ambassador to London, did not reach completion until 1826.
• Chateaubriand originally intended the work to be published at least fifty years after his death, but financial troubles forced him to sell the rights in 1836.
• A young Victor Hugo wrote of Chateaubriand: 'I will be Chateaubriand or nothing.'
• The work was published posthumously in two volumes in 1849 and 1850.