Sentiers du Patrimoine ®
Cherence
Maison de Nathalie Sarraute
Poursuivre à droite sur la route des Crêtes pour revenir au départ, le parking.
Prochain point : Lat.49.087912, Long.1.679373
Nathalie Sarraute was born in 1900 in Russia into a family of Jewish intellectuals. She left her homeland at the age of eight when her father went into exile and came to France. A remarkable literary figure, she is recognised as one of the leading voices of the Nouveau Roman movement, which sought to break free from classical narrative forms. One of her most famous works is Tropisms, published in 1939, a collection of short pieces capturing fleeting moments of life or thought. During the Second World War, she took refuge in Parmain to escape the persecution of Jews. A few years after the war, she acquired this house with her husband, the lawyer Raymond Sarraute.
In 1949, Nathalie Sarraute purchased and renovated this former farm to become her country residence. She established a daily writing routine: each morning she would leave the house and head to the café in Vétheuil, where she would write for several hours. Works such as Martereau and Le Planétarium were largely composed on the café terrace. She was deeply attached to the village, writing: “I love Chérence enormously. More than love, I feel I have put down roots here. In fact, my place in the cemetery is already ready, next to my husband.” She has indeed been resting in the village cemetery alongside her husband since 1999.
