L’or des manuscrits

An inspiring introduction to the treasures of our world literary heritage, via the exceptional destiny of one hundred of the most valuable among them. Their history is unique, strange and often surprising. From Leonardo da Vinci's Leicester Codex to Abraham Lincoln's letter concerning the end of slavery, from Beethoven's Große Fuge in B-flat major to the words of John Lennon's A Day in the Life, from Philipp Hainhofer's Amicorum to Einstein's letter to the president of the United States, from Hans V Himhof's book of prayers to the Consalatio Philosophiae from Latin poet Boethius, this book is an intimate introduction to their authors, as the Goncourt brothers in 1857 understood: "What can reveal the head and heart of the individual better than his own letter? A magical mirror through which visible intentions and naked thoughts can pass! This paper stained with ink is a graft of the human soul. What an illumination on the night of time!"