''La Belle Image'' (1941) is a

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

writer

Marcel Aymé Marcel Aymé (; 29 March 1902 – 14 October 1967) was a French novelist and playwright, who also wrote screenplays and works for children. Biography Marcel André Aymé was born in Joigny, in the Burgundy region of France, the youngest ...

that has been described as "

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of real ...

's ''

Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...

'' in reverse."

Composition

After

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

declared war on

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

on 3 September 1939, and during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

, Aymé was in Cape Ferret, but returned to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

at the end of August. ''La Belle Image'' was begun during the summer of 1940 and completed between September and October of that year. Aymé believed that the war would last at least ten years, and his

pessimistic Pessimism is a mental attitude in which an undesirable outcome is anticipated from a given situation. Pessimists tend to focus on the negatives of life in general. A common question asked to test for pessimism is "Is the glass half empty or half ...

mood is apparent throughout the novel. The work first appeared as a serial in ''

Aujourd'hui ''Aujourd'hui'' (, ''Today'') was a daily newspaper in Vichy France published between 1940 and 1944 in Paris. It was founded by journalist Henri Jeanson, who edited the publication during the autumn of 1940. After Jeanson was arrested and forced ...

'', from 15 December 1940 to 14 January 1941, with illustrations by . It was published by Gallimard towards the end of January 1941.

Plot

''La Belle Image'' is the story of Raoul Cerusier, an upstanding, hard-working, but suspicious businessman, whose dull and unattractive face is transformed into one that is young, handsome, and seductive. His office colleagues no longer recognize him, nor does his wife, whom he must then seduce, thereby cuckolding himself.

English translations

''La Belle Image'' was translated as ''The Second Face'' by Norman Denny for the

Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1887 by John Lane and Elkin Mathews, The Bodley Head existed as an independent entity or as part of multiple consortia until it was acquired by Random ...

in 1951 and by

Sophie Lewis Sophie Lewis (born 2002) is a British and English track cyclist. She won a bronze medal in the women’s team pursuit representing England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She was also a bronze medalist in the women’s team pursuit at the 202 ...

as ''Beautiful Image'' for

Pushkin Press Pushkin Press is a British-based publishing house dedicated to publishing novels, essays, memoirs and children's books. The London-based company was founded in 1997 and is notable for publishing authors such as Stefan Zweig, Marcel Aymé, Antal ...

in 2008; Denny's translation has also appeared under the title ''The Grand Seduction''.

Film adaptation

The book was filmed by

Claude Heymann Claude Heymann (13 November 1907 – 13 April 1994) was a French screenwriter and film director.Frey p.78 Selected filmography * ''American Love (film), American Love'' (1931) * ''Idylle au Caire'' (1933) * ''Disk 413'' (1936) * ''The Brighto ...

in 1951.

References

1941 French novels Novels by Marcel Aymé {{1940s-novel-stub

Composition

Plot

English translations

Film adaptation

See also

References