Adopted norms

Chronological and alphabetical classification

The editions listed in the database can be chronologically and/or alphabetically ordered. Within the chronological classification, a sub-classification is established according to the status of the work (first edition or republication).

The publication year indicated in the bibliographic record of each work is the same as that featuring on the title page, and not that of any announcement or press release. For example, a novel announced in the Journal typographique in 1799, but whose title page bears the date of 1800, will obviously be classified in 1800. At this stage of the project, the database does not list any edition, republication or associated edition, published before 1801 or after 1820.

In the case of works whose publication date is indicated according to the format of the Republican calendar, and for which it has not been possible to consult a paper copy or digital edition, we followed the same procedure as MMF: the revolutionary year is assimilated to the Gregorian year with which it has the greater overlap. For example, a novel published in ‘An XI’ will be entered in the database with works published in 1803, unless the title page clearly indicates a double date such as ‘An XI – 1802’.

Presentation of titles

The database indicates three types of titles: the full title (which reproduces the title indicated on the title page of each edition), the short title (which can be read more quickly, and which acts as a hyperlink to access records), and finally the alternative title (in the case of a work republished with a different title). For example, Etienne-Michel Masse’s Les loisirs d'un troubadour (1806) is republished as a ‘hidden edition’ (that is to say the title of the new edition is different from that of the first edition) titled Le sacrifice de Jephté, ou les crimes de la superstition (1808). In the database, the alternative title field therefore indicates, for the first edition, Le sacrifice de Jephté, and Les loisirs d'un troubadour, for the second edition.

With regard to the presentation of the titles, the original spelling is preserved, but the letter case and the line split are not. Usually, only the first letter of the first word is capitalised (unless the title contains a proper name or another book title). E.g.: Les soirées d’hiver, ouvrage amusant et instructif pour la jeunesse (1807), and Mon oncle Rigobert, ou l’homme résolu. Par Demontivillers, auteur des Trois inséparables (1810).

When a digital or physical copy of the works has been consulted, we have reproduced the entire title. In the cases in which we were unable to consult a copy, we have reproduced the title cited in our sources.

In the case of translations, the titles of the original texts are given in succinct form and usually accompanied, where possible, by the date of publication of the first edition.

Persons (authors, translators/adapters, scientific editors)

At this stage of the project, composers, illustrators, engravers, publishers and printers do not figure in ‘persons’ records, as the information relating to them remains incomplete. The catalogue of the Bibliothèque nationale de France was used as a reference for the spelling and the presentation of names: the surname comes first, it is followed by first and second forename(s), title(s), if applicable, and finally, where possible, by dates of birth and death, in order to differentiate homonyms.

Complete or partial anonymity: authors and translators for whom we only know a partial identity (e.g. ‘Mme de L ***’), and whose identity is not revealed in any of our sources, are indicated in the database as ‘anonymous’.
Supposed authors and translators: the name of the supposed author or translator is preceded by a question mark indicating doubt. For example, in the case of Julie, ou j’ai sauvé ma rose (1807), the author’s name will be accompanied by the following indication: ‘! Our research does not allow us to certify this information’.

Formats and pagination

The format and pagination indicated in the database are those given by our sources. In cases of divergences regarding the format, we have selected the one that occurs the most in our sources, and kept a record of the divergent information in the ‘general commentary’ section of each bibliographic record. Divergences over formats are numerous, and in these cases, the information provided should be used with caution. In the case of a work published in two different formats the same year and by the same publisher (e.g. Œuvres complètes de Mme la baronne de Staël (1820)), only one of the two formats appears in the ‘format’ section of the bibliographic record. The second format is indicated in the ‘general comment’ section.

Epigraphs

At this stage of the project, the presence or absence of epigraphs has not been reviewed systematically, as this task requires the consultation of a digital edition or physical copy of each work. The epigraphs listed in the database are from title pages; we have not taken into account those at the beginning of chapters.

‘Content’ field

In the case of an author’s complete works, a marginal work, a composite or collective work, the title of the prose fiction piece(s) contained within such works is indicated in the ‘content’ field. This field serves as additional justification, explaining why the work in question features in the database.

The case of complete works and affiliated works

Only complete works containing at least one prose fiction text published between 1801 and 1820 have been listed in the database. The text in question will be indicated in the ‘content’ field. For example, in the case of Œuvres complètes de Mme la baronne de Staël (1820), the ‘content’ field indicates: ‘Vol. 2 : Trois nouvelles et Zulma. Vol. 5, 6 et 7 : Delphine. Vol. 8 et 9 : Corinne, ou l’Italie. Vol. 17 : Mélanges’.Complete works are not considered as a ‘new state’, but as a first edition. The title of the work listed in the database will be the general title of the whole edition (e.g. Œuvres complètes de Mme la baronne de Staël, 1820).

In the case of complete works published in several volumes and over several years, the bibliographic entry is created at the publication date of the volume(s) containing the prose fiction text(s) published between 1801 and 1820. Other volumes of the same edition do not appear in the database, unless they also contain at least one fictional prose text published between 1801 and 1820. Details of the publication history for the edition in question are given in the ‘general commentary’ section.

Finally, in the case of a new work published in several volumes and over several years between 1801 and 1820, one new bibliographic entry will be made per year for each volume (e.g. Les Nouvelles historiques (1815-1819), by Stéphanie‑Félicité Du Crest, comtesse de Genlis).

Reviews

Literary reviews published in the press between 1801 and 1830 is logged by edition. Entries contain the title of the periodical or newspaper in which the review features, its date of publication, followed, if applicable, and in brackets, by the name or initials of the author of the review. The source is also indicated in brackets. For example, in the case of the Werther des bords de la Doire (1811), the review field reads as follow: ‘Journal de l’Empire, 2 janvier 1812 (signé « H. ») (Monglond)’.

The periodicals and newspapers in which the reviews were located are referenced in the ‘Sources and bibliographical references’ section.

Additional bibliographical explanations

The ‘general comments’ section of each bibliographic record contains diverse elements specific to the edition. This information concerns, inter alia, elements of paratext, doubts regarding generic classification, doubts or disagreements relating to authorship or the date of publication, information concerning transfers of publishers’ collections.

Predefined descriptive categories

Following the example of MMF, CAT19 features six predefined descriptive categories which help differentiate certain types of works. These descriptive categories allow researchers consulting the database to choose whether they wish to include or exclude works belonging to these categories during their search. These categories are as follows:

‘Collective’: collective work, i.e. co-written or co-translated work, or work containing a collection of pieces by different authors. Where possible, the names of the authors and/or translators are indicated.
- Example: Contes, nouvelles et historiettes (1820), by Stéphanie-Félicité Du Crest, comtesse de Genlis, Anne-Marie Beaufort d’Hautpoul and Adélaïde‑Gillette Billet Dufrénoy.
- ‘New state’: edition presenting a ‘new’ state (, i.e. extended, or significantly revised) of an already published text.
- Example: L’Homme au masque de fer, par M. Regnault de Warin. Quatrième édition, augmentée 1° d’une dissertation historique sur l’existence et la captivité de l’homme au masque de fer ; 2° des passages supprimés par la censure ; 3° du testament moral de ce prisonnier célèbre ; et ornée de son portrait peint long-temps avant sa longue détention (1816), by Jean-Joseph Regnault-Warin.
- A new translation is considered as a first edition and a new state.
  - Example: Le testament de la vieille cousine (1816), by Hortense de Céré‑Barbé and Mathieu-Guillaume-Thérèse Villenave, another translation of Charlotte Smith’s The Old Manor House (1793), first translated in 1799.
- An abridged version is considered a reissue and a new state.
  - Example: Mathieu van Oort’s Histoire abrégée de Robinson Crusoë, partagée en leçon et destinée à être traduite en hollandois (1809).
- Rewritings and sequels are considered new states.
  - Example: Le comte de Soissons et la duchesse d’Elbeuf, roman historique du siècle de Louis XIII (1805), which Antoine‑Alexandre Barbier et André Monglond indicate as a rewriting of Isaac Claude’s Comte de Soissons, nouvelle galante (1677).
‘*’ : indicates a work that we were unable to consult, for which we were unable to find a review, and for which no source confirms whether or not it is fictional prose and whether or not it falls within the database definition criteria.
- Example: the anonymous work La métempsycose (1819).
‘Marginal’: indicates a work that deviates from the norms of the prose fiction genre and that would not be qualified without hesitation as a tale or a novel.
- Example: Leçons anglaises de littérature et de morale (1817), by François-Joseph-Michel Noël and Charles-Pierre Chapsal, which includes prose translations of English texts.
- Analytical tables included in some of our sources, and bibliographies which sort works by categories, have made it possible to eliminate some of the works whose title might sound like that of a novel without it being one.
- Special cases: a prose translation of a poem initially composed in verse will be classified as ‘marginal’. Similarly, a work containing tales and anecdotes featuring among a collection of other non-prose/non-fiction pieces, will also be qualified as ‘marginal’.
‘Translation’
‘Pseudo-translation’: original work presented as a translation, and work supposedly translated from another language, but which source text has not been identified.
- Example 1: Amanda, ou les apparitions nocturnes (1801), by Louis‑Antoine Marquand. According to the preface, this work is either a half-acknowledged translation, or a story invented by L.-A. Marquand, which he passes off as a translation from the English. Example 2: Les mystères de la tour de Saint-Jean, ou les chevaliers du Temple (1819), which the author, Etienne-Léon de Lamothe-Langon, passes off as a translation of an English work by Matthew Gregory Lewis.