Lost novel by Charles Trenet discovered, almost a century after it was written

Almost one hundred years after it was written, Charles Trenet’s (1913-2001) youthful novel, “Les Rois fainéants”, was published in France for the first time. The work, written by the famous French singer and lyricist at just 17 years old, had remained unknown and thought lost throughout the life of the artist, who passed away 25 years ago. The book was published by the Frémeaux et Associés publishing house.

The discovery was the work of Hugues Amouret, a Parisian antiquarian, who during the catalog and sale of the private papers of the lyricist Louis Amade, found 203 manuscript sheets by Trenet, perfectly preserved, inside an orange folder. On the first page there are also quotes from Guillaume Apollinaire and Anatole France, testifying to the literary inspiration that accompanied the young Trenet.

The novel, divided into 21 chapters, reflects the author’s passion for French history and in particular for the Middle Ages, narrating the fate of the Frankish Merovingian sovereigns following Dagobert I. The story unfolds between the edges of the Oise, the forests of the Mans and reaches the beginning of the 20th century, alternating historical scenes with references to jazz music and the nascent foxtrot. Among the places evoked are Narbonne, Montauban, Toulouse and Carcassonne, as well as Paris, “an exquisite, lively and refined city”, which Trenet never actually visited at the time.

The young Trenet had started the project in Berlin in 1929, where he attended courses at the Künstgewerbeschule, and completed it in the summer of 1930 in Font-Romeu. Despite the appreciation of some Parisian publishers, the manuscript was never published. Its disappearance is probably due to an error in the management of Trenet’s early works by Louis Amade, who had preserved the text without realizing its importance.

“If the novel had been published then, Trenet perhaps would never have become the ‘Fou chantant’ of French song”, observe the experts. With this newfound work, an unprecedented piece of the artist’s career is completed, known for almost a thousand poetic songs that marked the French music of the twentieth century. (by Paolo Martini)