Rare signed autograph letter from Isabelle EBERHARDT to her husband Slimane Ehnni

  
The Autographes des Siècles bookstore has been specialized for many years in the sale of autographed letters and manuscripts. An autographed letter signed to her husband Slimane Ehnni. Three pages in octavo, in Arabic, on the letterhead of the Algerian newspaper Akhbar. “I went out into the deserts, and I spoke to the wind. A tear ran down my cheek.

” A rare and moving letter from the French explorer, written in Arabic, to her husband Slimane Ehnni. Back in Algerian soil during the hours of Ramadan, Isabelle Eberhardt inquires about her husband's health and informs him of some considerations regarding her journalistic work. She concludes her message with a splendid poem infused with oriental scents tinged with fatality.

Praise be to God, My dear love. Receive the most sincere greetings from your love and all the girls. I inform you that I have arrived safely in Algiers and that our friends are doing well, but leaving you ill, my heart is not at peace. I ask you to inform me quickly about your actual health status, my beloved, and to take care of my love. If you have any, send me a bit of money to buy what you asked me for because I have many expenses with Ramadan among the Christians.

I also inform you of my concern regarding the affair of the newspaper called “Azzaman.” [Le Temps newspaper], they have still not accepted that we send responses from Algiers, and we are waiting for their return. However, in Ténès, do not repeat this to anyone and send me reliable information regarding the well-known man from the Beni Merzoug tribe concerning the matter of his properties in Algiers.

If he has made a request and the boss found no objection, it is an opportunity for us to take care of his case. Once Ramadan is over, I should go to the sanctuary of the Saint to seek his blessing, and you must be able to accompany me to this sanctuary. I conclude this letter, may complete peace be upon you, with the most sincere greetings from your faithful orphan. As I told you, tell this man that he must give us a guarantee regarding what he spoke to us about, and if he wants us to settle his case without a guarantee in hand, we can do so.

I questioned them, they remained silent. I cried, they mocked me. I explained their concerns to them, but they understood nothing. I went out into the deserts, and I spoke to the wind. Do you know a gazelle, the most beautiful in the desert? I questioned them, and they remained silent. I ask nothing of you, O Most High. Patience and time are remedies for the sick heart.

Be patient until death comes to you. If your heart does not heal. If it still does not calm. The grave is the remedy for the wounded heart. A remarkable and avant-garde figure, adventurer, poet, journalist, and explorer, Isabelle embodies, through her fascinating destiny, the breath of freedom.

From a Genevan youth tinged with Slavic anarchism, the young woman, singular from her origins, fell in love very early with a life without constraints: “I was thirsty for freedom, and I found no freedom among our libertarians,” and discovered the enchantments of Muslim lands in 1897, in Bône, Algeria. Her meeting in 1900 with Slimane Ehnni, a sergeant of the Spahis (a traditional army corps integrated, during the occupation, into the French army), would change her destiny. Victim of an assassination attempt by a member of a brotherhood opposed to his, in 1901, Isabelle, accused of being the source of troubles among the indigenous tribes, was expelled from Algeria by colonial authorities. Her return to the Maghreb lands of her heart in 1902, thanks to her marriage to Slimane Ehnni, opened the doors of the deserts and nomadic life for her. She collaborated with the Arabophile newspaper Akhbar directed by Victor Barrucand. In October 1904, the small Algerian oasis Aïn Sefra was struck by a furious storm. The river was overwhelmed by the floods. Isabelle's body would be found, lifeless, under the rubble, six days later.

She rests in the Muslim cemetery of Aïn Sefra. Isabelle Eberhardt published little during her lifetime.

The scattered pages of her works, found in her house after the tragedy of Aïn Sefra, were published posthumously by her friend Victor Barrucand. Consult our manuscripts The Autographes des Siècles Gallery specializes in the sale and expertise of autographed letters and manuscripts from the great personalities of past centuries.

Purchase / Payment Methods We accept the following payment methods: Bank transfers and checks. The prices indicated are in euros and are net. We can also proceed with shipments by private carrier at your request. Sales Conditions In accordance with the practices of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, we accept a return guarantee within 14 days. Return shipping costs are borne by the buyer.

About All the items offered are originals for which we guarantee authenticity. Our invoices serve as proof of authenticity for the sold items. However, upon your request, we can issue a certificate of authenticity, in addition.