Judge Not

André Gide's lifelong fascination with the conventions of society led naturally to a strong interest in France's judicial system. At the age of sixty Gide published Judge Not, a collection of writings detailing his experiences with the law as well as his thoughts on truth, justice, and judgment. Gide writes about his experience as a juror in several trials, including that of an arsonist, and he analyzes two famous crimes of his day: Marcel Redureau, a docile fifteen-year-old vineyard laborer who violently murdered his employer's family, and the respected Monnier family's confinement of their daughter, Blanche.

André Gide Translated from the French with an Introduction and Notes by Benjamin Ivry

André Gide's lifelong fascination with people who challenge the conventions of society led to a strong interest in France's judicial system. At the age of sixty Gide published Ne jugez pas, a collection detailing his own experiences with the law as well as his thoughts on truth, justice, and judgment. Gide's obsession with crime and punishment was not just a morbid hobby; rather, it struck at the heart of his themes as a writer. In the literary tradition of Dostoyevsky and Conrad, Gide frequently used criminals as central characters to explore human nature and the individual's place in society. In the first essay in Judge Not, "A Memoir of the Assize Court," Gide writes about his experience as a juror in several trials, including that of an arsonist (Gide actively sought jury duty, so great was his interest in legal matters). In "The Redureau Case" and "The Confined Woman of Poitiers" Gide analyzes two famous crimes of his day, an inexplicable slaughter by Marcel Redureau, a docile fifteen-year-old vineyard laborer who violently murdered his employer's family, and the respected Monnier family's confinement of their daughter, Blanche. Both cases fascinated Gide--elements of each would appear in his later fiction--and he looks closely at the facts of each case as they came out in court. In addition, in "News Items" Gide analyzes the way newspapers present crime narratives, drawing from the hundreds of press clippings he collected throughout his life. Benjamin Ivry's introduction places the essays in context, examining Gide's interest in criminal and legal matters and the role of the law in his life and work.

About the Authors:

André Gide (1869-1951) wrote The Counterfeiters; several brief works of fiction including Strait Is the Gate and The Immoralist; a number of plays; and several works of literary criticism. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1947.

Benjamin Ivry has translated from the French Vanished Splendors: The Memoirs of Balthus, Raoul Dufy's My Doctor, Wine, and Jules Verne's Magellania, among other books. He is the author of the biographies Francis Poulenc, Arthur Rimbaud, and Maurice Ravel: A Life.  

André Gide (1869–1951) is one of the giants of twentieth-century literature, honored for his plays, fiction, and criticism, as well as his extraordinary Journals. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1947. Benjamin Ivry's translations from the French include Vanished Splendors: The Memoirs of Balthus, Jules Verne's Magellania, Witold Gombrowicz's A Guide to Philosophy in Six Hours and Fifteen Minutes, and other books. He is the author of the poetry collection Paradise for the Portuguese Queen and the biographies Francis Poulenc, Arthur Rimbaud, and Maurice Ravel: A Life.