Journal de Marie Bashkirtseff (Charpentier, 1887)

Overview

The first published edition of Marie Bashkirtseff's diary, issued in two volumes by Charpentier/Fasquelle in Paris in 1887. Edited by André Theuriet with a preface by François Coppée. This heavily censored edition included only ~25% of the complete diary, with extensive cuts and alterations made primarily by Marie's mother to protect family reputation and social propriety.

Publication Details

• Title: Journal de Marie Bashkirtseff
• Publisher: G. Charpentier et Cie (later Fasquelle), Paris
• Year: 1887 (first edition); 1903 (Fasquelle reprint)
• Volumes: 2

- Vol. I: March 1873 – September 6, 1877 - Vol. II: September 9, 1877 – October 20, 1884

• Editor: André Theuriet (1833–1907), poet and novelist, member of the Académie française
• Preface: François Coppée

Censorship

The published edition removed approximately 75% of Marie's diary content. Principal categories of censorship:

• Romantic attachments: References to the Duke of Hamilton, Audiffret, and other objects of Marie's affections were heavily cut or disguised with initials
• Health details: Marie's progressive deafness and later tuberculosis were minimized
• Family conflicts: Disputes with her father, Uncle Georges's scandals, and family financial schemes were largely suppressed
• Social criticism: Marie's sharpest observations about Nice and Paris society were softened
• Political opinions: Some of Marie's more radical political views were removed
• Name substitution: Real names were replaced with initials (e.g., "Mlle Collignon" → "Mlle G...")

Coverage in This Project

Our OCR source is the 1903 Fasquelle reprint, obtained from Internet Archive as plain text:

• Volume 1: ~19,000 lines
• Volume 2: ~21,000 lines

Matching Results

• Entries parsed: ~743 (from OCR text)
• Entries matched to originals: ~698 (by date)
• Paragraphs matched: ~2,700 (French-to-French substring/fuzzy matching)
• Coverage: ~60 carnets tagged across the full date range

Match rates are higher for later diary years (1879–1884) where the censored text closely follows the original. Earlier years (1873–1876) show lower matching because the 1887 edition more aggressively rewrote text and substituted names with initials.

Tag Meaning

The tag `#Censored_1887` on a paragraph indicates that the paragraph appeared in the 1887 Charpentier/Fasquelle published edition. This allows readers to see which portions of Marie's diary were made public in her time and which were suppressed.

Historical Significance

Despite its heavy censorship, this edition caused a literary sensation. It was translated into English by Mathilde Blind (1890) and Mary J. Serrano (1890), and into numerous other languages. The diary's fame in the late 19th century rested entirely on this incomplete version, making Marie Bashkirtseff one of the most celebrated diarists of the era while concealing much of her most intimate and incisive writing.

Related Entries

• #Katherine_Kernberger – Produced the modern annotated English translation from the uncensored text
• #Andre_Theuriet – Editor of the 1887 edition (if entry exists)

Diary References

This tag appears across ~700 entries spanning 1873–1884, marking the ~2,700 paragraphs that were included in the published edition.