Malcohn de Chazal (1902-1981) is little known abroad and misunderstood by his compatriots in Mauritius. Man of letters and theatre, poet and painter, sometime philosopher and prolific columnist, Chazal was an agricultural engineer by training but worked for the telecommunications department. This thesis attempts to synthesise these multiple incarnations by putting together the salient aspects of his literary biography and the extensive detailed of his bibliography in particular : published books, newspaper and journal articles, book reviews, prefaces, unpublished works, correspondence, radio and television programmes. This task was complicated by an author who was at the same time egocentric and fiercely timid: Yet it fills a sizeable void in this field of study. The response of his critics in books and articles forms the second half of the bibliography; prefaces, critical books, academic works, -dictionary entries, catalogues and prefaces of exhibitions, and economic tracts. A renewed interest in Chazal in Mauritius and in France has relaunched study of the author, and encouraged publishers to reprint long forgotten works. It is hoped that this thesis will become a powerful research tool with its succinct biography, and in particular because of its complete bibliography. The newspaper and journal articles are classified chronologically by title and by alphabetical order of the newspaper or journal. A thematic classification of Chazal's articles with accompanying notes, as well as purely chronological classifications of all newspaper and journal articles facilitate the work of the researcher. The appendices are further augmented by a list of articles whose details have not been checked; an inventory of published works and articles of Chazal in mauritian archives and libraries (including useful information on these places); a list of authors and. books cited in Chazal's articles; a lexicon of titles, and names of people and places in Mauritius. This is followed by a detailed list of sources used in this thesis. The practical aspects of this study must be emphasised : from its presentation of Chazal's works to that of his critics, from its summary of Chazal studies to its projections of what still needs to be done. The confused reader will have a point of reference, and the initiated researcher will find a more useful guide within these pages than what is currently available. The study reflects this author's own difficulties, and tries to lighten the load of others by resolving a goo4 number of these issues. The thesis underlines Chazal's literary output by providing an accessible biography and a classified bibliography, while merely sketching his artistic career. The ultimate goal is to render author and work more accessible. While we are made aware of the paucity of research, the road ahead is rich with unexplored topics of study.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uct/oai:localhost:11427/21489 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Noël, Vincent Raoul Daniel |
| Publisher | University of Cape Town, Faculty of Humanities, French Language and Literature |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | French |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Master Thesis, Masters, MA |
| Format | application/pdf |
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