MESRINE Jacques (1936-1979) nicknamed public enemy number on - Lot 76

MESRINE Jacques (1936-1979) nicknamed public enemy number one. 8 L.A.S. to Jeanne Schneider, Fleury-Merogis prison, December 1 to 3 and December 5 to 9, 1976. 18 pp. folio. On December 1, he writes, among other things, about a news item: "I heard the story of the hold-up in Belgium where a 5-year-old kid was killed, and I would have associates like that and shoot them on the spot. [Tomorrow I have a visit from Judge Madre, and I'm just going to fire him with my big-day green language []"; on December 2, in the second part of the letter, he gives a flowery account of his interview with Judge Madre; on December 3, he thanks her for her support for his daughter and asks her to stop defending him against the prison governor. He assumes his isolation: "I have no complaints about my detention, which is very humane []", and goes on to talk about his explosive nature, etc. On December 5, he discusses a wide range of subjects, concluding his letter with a beautiful thought: "Night is the providence of the tolard"; on December 6, he discusses Jeanne's surveillance: "With your personal 'guard', you don't risk being attacked"; he writes about loneliness and what it provokes in him; on December 7, Jeanne meets Simone Gallimard; he gives her his opinion on Laffont; he hopes to finish his work in two days, and announces: "For him [Laffont], my writings are too strong. La vie d'un ennemi public is not, as far as I know, a romance [] Laffont will regret his incorrectness []"; on December 8, he writes on various subjects: his daughter, his book, Jeanne's sleeping problems, etc.; on Thursday, December 9, he is highly critical, attacking journalists, prison "reform", etc.; on Thursday, December 10, he writes on his daughter's death.