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The
vindication of François Leguat : a comprehensive
appraisal
of Leguat's natural history observations in the Island of Rodrigues,
Indian ocean (1708) and a thorough refutation of his detractors from
Buffon and Cuvier to the late Professor Geoffroy Atkinson and his
supporters / Alfred North-Coombes. - Port-Louis
(Maurice) :
Société de l'histoire de l'Ile Maurice, 1979. -
XXXVII-254 p.-[13] f. de pl. ; 21 cm.
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NOTE
DE L'ÉDITEUR :
(…)
In
1974 [Alfred North-Coombes] sought admission to Monash University
[Australia] in order to write a Ph. D. thesis in vindication
of
the French seventeenth-century huguenot exile and traveller,
François Leguat, whose famous book Voyage & avantures (1708)
has been a subject of controversy for 270 years.
The
author is well equipped for this task, combining mature judgement with
a scientific background, fluency in French and an intimate knowledge of
the Mascarene Islands and their history.
In this
book will be found the proof that Geoffroy Atkinson's theory on Leguat
in The Extraordinary
Voyage in French Literature is
a literary fraud. It refutes all Leguat's critics from Chinard, Ascoli
and Pons to Swaen and Stresemann, Gove and Adams, and shows that even
an immortal like Cuvier grossly misjudged the naturalist in the man.
The book
has been described as a masterly exposition and a fascinating detective
story.
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L'étude d'Alfred
North-Coombes — « la
plus récente et la meilleure des monographies
consacrées au Voyage de François
Leguat » 1 — a
mis un terme définitif à un débat
récurrent en établissant au prix d'une
enquête minutieuse l'authenticité de ce qui
était jusqu'alors tenu, par la critique universitaire, pour
un « roman utopique ».
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| CONTENTS |
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chronology (1510-1968)
Synopsis of chapters
Introduction
- The
Mascarene Islands
- A
Great Adventure
- Leguat
at Batavia and the Cape
- Accounts
of 18th-Century Visitors and Cuvier's Error
- Sensational
Bone Discoveries in Mauritius and Rodrigues
- Nineteenth-Century
Scientific Studies
- Birth,
Progress and End of a Career
- The
Author — Leguat, not Misson !
- A
Severe Indictment
- The
Attack on Sauzier and Oliver
- Mystification
by Means of Footnotes
- The
Mutilation of Leguat's Masterpiece
- The
Art of Deception
- A
Monumental Fraud Exposed
- The
Trees too Tell their Tale
- A
Survey of Leguat Studies, 1923-1976
- Epilogue
APPENDICES
- References
to Leguat or his Book in General and Scientific Literature (1707-1976)
- Cauche's
description of the Dodo and Partridges
- Description
of the Solitaire by Du Quesne and Tafforet
Bibliography
Names of persons in the text and footnotes
Illustrations
Maps |
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| COMPLÉMENT
BIBLIOGRAPHIQUE |
- « The
vindication of François Leguat, first resident and historian
of
Rodrigues (1691-1693) », Rose Hill
(Maurice) : Ed. de
l'océan Indien, 1991
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- François
Leguat, « Voyages et aventures de
François Leguat et de ses compagnons en deux isles
désertes des Indes orientales, avec la relation des choses
les plus remarquables qu'ils ont observées dans l'isle
Maurice, à Batavia, au cap de Bonne Espérance,
dans l'isle Ste-Hélène et en d'autres endroits de
leur route », Amsterdam, 1708
- François
Leguat, « Aventures
aux Mascareignes : Voyages et aventures de François
Leguat et de ses compagnons en deux îles désertes
des Indes orientales, 1707 » introduction
et notes de Jean-Michel Racault, Paris : La
Découverte, 1984
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- Nicolas
Cavaillès, « Vie de monsieur
Leguat », Paris : Ed. du Sonneur, 2013
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| mise-à-jour : 4
octobre 2013 |
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