A Nocturnal Expedition Round My Room

Autour de ma chambre #2

by Xavier de Maistre

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

70 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1825

About the author

Xavier de Maistre of Savoy (at the time, a region of the Kingdom of Sardinia), lived largely as a military man, but is known as a French writer. The younger brother of noted philosopher and counter-revolutionary Joseph de Maistre, Xavier was born to an aristocratic family at Chambéry in October 1763. He served when young in the Kingdom of Sardinia army, and wrote his fantasy, Voyage autour de ma chambre (Journey Around My Room, published 1794) when he was under arrest in Turin as the consequence of a duel.

Xavier shared the politics and the loyalty of his brother, and after a French revolutionary army annexed Savoy to France in 1792, he left the service, and eventually took a commission in the Russian army. He served under Alexander Suvorov in his victorious Austro-Russian campaign and accompanied the marshal to Russia in 1796. By then, Suvorov's patron Catherine II of Russia had died, and the new monarch Paul I dismissed the victorious general (partly on account of the massacre of 20,000 Poles after he conquered Warsaw). Xavier de Maistre shared the disgrace of his general, and supported himself for some time in St. Petersburg by miniature painting, particularly landscapes.

In 1803, Joseph de Maistre was appointed the Sardinia's ambassador to the court of Alexander I, Tsar of Russia. On his brother's arrival in St. Petersburg, Xavier de Maistre was introduced to the Minister of the Navy, and was appointed to several posts including director of the Library, and of the Museum of Admiralty. He also joined active service, and was wounded in the Caucasus, attaining the rank of major-general. In 1812 he married the Russian lady, related to the Tsars, Mrs. Zagriatsky, and established himself in his adopted country, even after the overthrow of Napoleon, and the consequent restoration of the Piedmontese dynasty.

Reviews

[Dagmar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Die wunderbare édition sillage hat die beiden bedeutenden "Zimmerreisen" de Maistres- die "voyage autour de ma chambre" und die " expédition nocturne autour de ma chambre" in einem schmales Bändchen zusammengefasst. Doch das lässt sich hier nicht finden; deshalb der Hinweis auf den Verlag.

Mit den Zimmerreisen hat de Maistre als Erster ein Pendant zur beliebten Reiseliteratur gefunden. Und dafür verdient er ein Bravo. Die nächtliche Reise, einige Jahre später verfasst, hat deutlich mehr Tiefgang und Reflexion gegenüber der stärker beschreibenden Tageszimmerreise.

Was mir am besten gefallen hat ist die Schilderung der Beziehung zu seiner Hündin Rosine. Das kommt so nicht in der Literatur vor. Und das ist mir erst beim Lesen aufgefallen...

[Riccardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Mi piace pensare che non è il caso quello che conduce fino ai miei occhi le emanazioni di quei mondi lontani, e ogni stella con la sua luce versa un raggio di speranza nel mio cuore. [...] Effimero spettatore di uno spettacolo eterno, l'uomo leva un istante gli occhi verso il cielo e li chiude per sempre, ma durante questo rapido istante che gli è concesso, da tutti i punti del cielo, dai confini dell'universo, un raggio consolatore parte da quei mondi e viene a colpire i suoi sguardi, per annunciargli che esiste un legame tra l'immensità e lui, e ch'egli è associato all'eternità."


Meno ispirato e più discontinuo del più celebre "Viaggio", questo romanzo breve può contare su alcune interessanti suggestioni e sul sempre presente estro del suo autore.

[Federica · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Ogni tanto dovremmo essere tutti eccentrici personaggi ottocenteschi in viaggio a cavallo della nostra finestra, tra la nostra camera e il cielo. Forse un po' più serio e metafisico di Voyage autour de ma chambre, ne conserva l'arguzia

[Leonor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gracioso.

[Daniel Rivas del Monte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as witty as "A Journey Round my Room"

[Bobparr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libretto acuto e scanzonato, lieve nei pensieri cupi e divertente in quelli allegri, vale per la sua ironia e per aver dato inizio (a quanto dice l'introduzione) ad una nuova modalita' di scrittura, meno arcadica e piu' introspettiva. Poi quella di trasformare un davanzale in un cavallo è una gran trovata!