André Beaunier's Visages d'hier et d'aujourd'hui (Faces of Yesterday and Today) is a collection of character sketches and literary portraits published in the early 20th century. Think of it less as a traditional story and more as a series of vivid, intelligent observations. Beaunier, a sharp-eyed critic and journalist, uses his pen like a camera, capturing the essence of the people who defined his era.

The Story

There's no single narrative thread. Instead, the book is a gallery of personalities. Beaunier introduces us to celebrated figures like the poet Stéphane Mallarmé and the novelist Anatole France, pulling back the curtain on their public personas. He also turns his attention to the social types of his time: the ambitious young writer, the cunning politician, the charming salonnière, the weary bureaucrat. Each portrait is a self-contained story, a few pages where Beaunier dissects a person's mannerisms, speech, and the subtle gap between who they are and who they pretend to be. He moves from the glittering literary circles of Paris to more ordinary settings, finding drama and comedy in everyday encounters.

Why You Should Read It

I loved this book because it feels incredibly modern. Beaunier is the ultimate people-watcher. His writing isn't mean-spirited gossip; it's curious and psychologically astute. He asks the questions we all do when we meet someone new: What are they really like? What do they want? Reading it, you realize how little human nature changes. The social climbers, the fragile egos, the quiet dreamers—they're all here, just in waistcoats and long dresses. It's also a wonderful, intimate glimpse into a lost world. You get the texture of Parisian life, the buzz of ideas, and the unspoken rules of society, all through the lens of its inhabitants. It’s history made personal.

Final Verdict

This book is perfect for readers who enjoy character-driven essays, history seen from street level, or the works of writers like Virginia Woolf or Natalia Ginzburg who excel at psychological nuance. It's not for someone seeking a fast-paced plot. But if you like to linger over beautifully crafted sentences and smart observations about why people do the things they do, you'll find Visages d'hier et d'aujourd'hui to be a quiet, rewarding delight. It's a masterclass in the art of observation.