The Antique Book of Gilles Blaze, Alain-René Lesage 1901. With illustrations in text by Joo, Staal, Leroux and Didier. With three Lesage portraits and a critical essay. Translated from French by S.S. Trubachev. Published in St. Petersburg in 1901. Collection status of the book. There are indescribable works. They outlive their authors; they pass whole centuries, and they remain eternally fresh, as if testifying to the fact of their existence, that not everything in nature is corruptible and doomed to death. Talent does not age. How many years "Iliad" or "Odessa", and after all they live not dusty shelves of our library and from every page they blow brightness and novelty, as if the author lived not 3000 years ago, and continues to live in our time. The same must be said about Dante, Petrarch, Camoens, Torquato Tosso, poets who are great, but forgotten and not read as they are not read in Russia, for example, the works of Baratinsky, Batyushkov, Benedictov and other representatives of Russian poetry of the 30s and 40s of the 19th century. The same must be said about Lesage, this amazing French writer of the times of Louis 14, who managed not only to write a new page in the history of domestic literature, but also to bring a living stream to modernity with his amazing works, among which the novel “The Blaze’s Gilles” occupies the first place in justice. In order to give an idea of the success and influence that the author of Gilles Blaz used during his lifetime in France, it is enough to give a well-known anecdote about the last copy of his book and two passionate readers. Lesage at that time had already written his comedy Turkare, which glorified him as a brave fighter for truth, and had just released Lame Rubbish, the same but even sharper satire on the mores of the time. This book found such a quick sale in France that a few days after its release, a new edition was needed. The store where this book was sold was besieged like a fortress. Finally, the second edition was sold out. There was only one copy left, and there were two people who wanted to buy it. What to do? Neither one wanted to give way to the opponent, and it was necessary to choose one of two: either to tear the book in half, or to solve the matter with a duel. Opponents preferred the latter and immediately drew swords in the store. After a minute, one of them lay on the floor in blood, and the other went out the door, solemnly carrying away the treasured book. This anecdote alone, which, however, is not an anecdote, but a real fact, is quite enough to assess the role and significance of the author of “Gil Blaz” for contemporaries. Subsequently, the success of Lesage in France increased even more, and grateful descendants reached in their delight to the point that they put him even on the same height as Cervantes. However, in our eyes, the most important thing is that Lesage immediately won the general attention and became the idol of the crowd. He was not only read, but loved. In his works, they searched for deep meaning, and in "Gil Blaze" they even found something more than deep meaning - a civil feat. And all this despite the fact that Lesage mainly described not French, but Spanish life, not native, but foreign nature, foreign language, foreign customs, foreign political and social ideals. Spain seemed to be a second homeland for him and he devoted his talent, leisure and inspiration to it, not to his land. How could it happen that a person who in some way changed his native land, to use in life and after death such honor and universal worship? But before answering this question, it is necessary to dwell on the literary trends that marked the age of Louis 14, when the famous author of "Gilles Blaise" lived and worked.