‘Embryonic’: lost novel by French film-maker Éric Rohmer is republished

Eight decades after its initial publication and 16 years after the death of its author, the French filmmaker Éric Rohmer’s early novel “Élisabeth” has been rediscovered and republished in an English translation. Written by a 24-year-old Maurice Schérer, later known as Rohmer, the book depicted young lovers in prewar France, featuring themes of age-gap affairs and semi-incestuous flirtations. Schérer used the pseudonym Gilbert Cordier to shield his family from potential scandal, though the novel ultimately made little impact and soon disappeared from print.

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It would be a rewarding, exciting read even if the identity of its author were unfamiliar. The fact that it’s by Rohmer? That’s the icing on the cake.

Undeterred by the literary setback, Schérer adopted the name Éric Rohmer and turned his attention to filmmaking. He became a prominent figure in the French New Wave, known for films such as “Claire’s Knee” and “My Night at Maud’s.” The new English edition of “Élisabeth,” translated by Aaron Kerner, has garnered critical acclaim, with reviewers calling it a lost modernist classic and a crucial origin story for the acclaimed director. Richard Brody of The New Yorker noted that the book would be a rewarding read even without knowing its author, with Rohmer’s identity adding significant value.

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On the one hand, to be honest, the book is a footnote. But it is also embryonic and full of Rohmerian moments. It takes on all the themes that will become more developed, complex and impactful in his films.

Novelist André Aciman, who wrote the foreword for the new edition, described the book as both a footnote in Rohmer’s career and a nascent exploration of his signature themes. “It is also embryonic and full of Rohmerian moments,” Aciman stated. “It takes on all the themes that will become more developed, complex and impactful in his films.” Rohmer penned “Élisabeth” while working as a freelance journalist in Nazi-occupied Paris, focusing on a group of dreamers in the summer of 1939. The novel’s failure prompted him to shift towards film criticism and eventually directing, as he came to believe literature’s time had passed, supplanted by cinema.

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I didn’t believe in literature any longer. I felt its time had passed [and] that cinema had supplanted it.

Aciman suggests that cinema was Rohmer’s natural medium, allowing him to explore human behavior and unpredictable natures with greater honesty than his novel. He found Rohmer’s work captivating, particularly the depiction of unspoken desires and relatable characters. Film critic Adrian Martin highlighted Rohmer’s use of improvisation and a small crew, which contributed to the spontaneous and fresh quality of his films. Rohmer’s preference for natural actor performances and minimal direction, sometimes even directing from another room, underscored his commitment to capturing authentic moments. Despite his public persona as a filmmaker, Rohmer maintained a private life, often concealing his profession from his mother, who believed he was a respectable teacher.

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There is something in his work that has always captured me. The study of human behaviour and our unpredictable natures. Two people who are dying to sleep with each other but don’t. That’s probably why I project myself on to every character in every Rohmer film. I think, ‘Oh my God, I could be this man or this woman. That’s what I’d do or say in that situation.’