ROUFF, Marcel. Autograph manuscript of a novel: “Maroc” [193 - Lot 280

ROUFF, Marcel. Autograph manuscript of a novel: “Maroc” [1931]. A rich manuscript of this exotic novel set in Morocco, which was then under French protectorate. 92 handwritten pages numbered 1 through 93 (numbering skips from page 75 to 77) on the verso sides of various in-4 folios (some with printed headers, sometimes on graph paper) mounted on tabs. Mandarine-colored half-shagreen binding with corner pieces, ribbed spine. A rich, complete autograph manuscript. On the first leaf, a handwritten note in graphite, pasted in the upper margin with the title “Morocco.” At the bottom of the last leaf, “October 24, 31. 11:30 p.m. Feeling really down.” The manuscript contains numerous corrections and cross-outs. It consists of IX chapters and a final chapter numbered “(?)”. This exotic novel opens with an explanation to the reader that sets the stage for the story, Morocco, marked by internal conflicts and events that inspired the novel, notably those involving the Aït Seghrouchen, a Berber tribe of the Middle Atlas who, between 1924 and 1926, opposed French colonial troops. The narrative is written in the first person. The narrator, a European traveler, recounts his encounter with a fascinating duo: Estelle—who is reminiscent of Isabelle Eberhardt, the famous traveler and writer from the Maghreb—and Hadji “caïd,” who welcomes her into his palace in Fez. Marcel Rouff (1877–1936), a Franco-Swiss writer and journalist best known for his culinary writings, notably *La Vie et la passion de Dodin-Bouffant, gourmet* (1924), also wrote numerous novels.