Description
KESSEL (Joseph).
Fortune carrée.
Paris: Les Éditions de France, 1932. — In-8, 220 x 133: (4 blank folios at the beginning), 435 pp., (2 blank leaves at the end), printed cover. Paperback.
First edition of this adventure novel.
‘In 1931, Kessel began writing what was to become one of his finest novels. The idea for *Fortune carrée* came to him on the volcanic plateau of Sana’a when he saw “the Muscovite” prancing about on the Yemeni imam’s stallion. This rugged tale features two violent, rootless men: Hakimoff and Henri de Monfreid, set against a backdrop of breathtaking beauty—Yemen, the Red Sea, and Ethiopia-Somalia. A dazzling tale inspired by the life of the great traveller Kessel and his encounters with fabulous characters: Monfreid, but also Sergeant Hussein and Gouri, the killer with bracelets made of human skin. An epic and true adventure novel’ (back cover of the edition published by Yves Courrière in the ‘Presse Pocket’ collection in 1996).
One of 78 copies printed on Holland paper; this one is unnumbered, the second paper run following 10 copies printed on Imperial Japanese paper.
A copy with wide margins; the endpapers are mostly dusty.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Claude Mozis Library – Black Africa and the African diaspora
Auction location
Auction time
10/21/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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