"Il faut les prendre par la douceur, et ne pas s'imposer tout d'abord, ni paraître illuminé"

Autograph letter dated and signed by Jacques Chardonne to literary critic and novelist Frédéric Lefèvre, 23 lines in black ink on a single leaf with letterhead of his address at La Frette, notably regarding members of the Prix Goncourt jury.
Mailing fold as expected. Envelope included.
Jacques Chardonne advises and recommends to Frédéric Lefèvre the attitude to adopt toward members of the Goncourt jury after the publication of his latest work. He also wants to help his friend and bring all his literary weight to bear in order to make his work favorably known: "When you send the deluxe copies, signed by you, I will write again and I will go see those I can reach directly."
Jacques Chardonne also mentions the distribution of his recently published Claire: "I sent a copy of Claire (my pleasure) to Madame Arnoux, at Nouvelles. As well as a copy to you, M. du Gard, and Charensol, last Thursday. In your copy, I included a note telling you that a deluxe copy was naturally reserved for you."