DAUDET (Ernest). La CarméliteIn French, manuscript on paper. France, Petites-Dalles (Seine-Inférieure), September 1882-Paris, January 1883, [3] ff. + 358 pp. leaves all mounted on tabs . Bound in brown half-chagrin with corners, spine with 5 nerves, gilt lettering, boards covered with marbled paper pebbled, counterguards and endpapers of marbled paper turned. Dimensions : 213 x 175 mmAn autograph manuscript , with corrections by the author . A handwritten note indicates : " Manuscript of my novel La Carmélite offered in testimony of affectionate sympathy...Ernest Daudet. Paris, June 15, 1898". Ernest Daudet (Nîmes, 1837- Petites-Dalles, 1921), French writer and journalist was the elder brother of Alphonse Daudet. He published about thirty novels: the French Academy awarded him the Calmann-Lévy prize in 1892 for his historical and literary works. He was elected to the French Academy in 1898 and La Carmélite was published by Plon in 1883. The Carmelite monastery in Nîmes was founded by Father Emmanuel d'Alzon, who was the main donor because he wanted the prayerful help of the Carmelites for the city of Nîmes, which was considered to be the "boulevard of Protestantism" . The monastery was built on a vast property that belonged to the family of Alphonse Daudet.