Highly influential Russian author (1818–1883) whose 1862 novel Fathers and Sons remains one of the pillars of 19th-century literature. ALS in French, signed “Iv. Tourgueneff,” one page, 5 x 8, personal cross-style monogrammed letterhead, no date [circa January 1876]. Addressed from “Rue de Douai” in Paris, a handwritten letter sent to “Monsieur Charpentier,” ostensibly Georges Charpentier (1846-1905), the French publisher of Emile Zola, Gustave Flaubert, and Guy de Maupassant, and champion of Impressionist painters. In full (translated): “The death of poor Mr. Mohl forces me to go out early today, so as I will be in your neighbourhood, I prefer to go to your place around 3 o'clock. If you can't be at home at this time of day, please could you leave me (for Stanilevitch) a receipt for 1200 francs (with the 400 he has already paid you) – and I will leave the 800 with you. But I hope to see you.” In very fine condition. An attractively penned handwritten letter from the great Russian scribe, who was then in the midst of writing Virgin Soil, his sixth and final novel, which was published the following year.
Although undated, other than Mercredi (Wednesday) at 8 am, it stands to reason that the letter must date to early January 1876, as Turgenev refers to the death of the German Orientalist Julius von Mohl (1800-1876), who passed away on January 4th in Paris. Julius von Mohl´s wife was Mary Elizabeth Mohl (1793-1883), a noted British writer and feminist, as well as a salon hostess in Paris and a close friend of Florence Nightingale.
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