"Mon prochain sort en septembre aux éditions du Rocher. "Madame de Saint Sulpice". Je ne pense pas que la presse catholique m'encensera."."

Signed manuscript bristol of 22 lines by Alphonse Boudard, on letterhead of his Parisian address in Nouvelle Athènes in the 9th arrondissement, to his great friend and companion of well-watered lunches, the Brussels journalist André Tillieu who was, like Alphonse Boudard, a great friend of Georges Brassens but also of Jean Giono.
Envelope enclosed.
"Vieux frère, merci de tes deux dernières lettres, je suis un peu débordé (par le succès entre autres) et j'ai laissé le courrier s'accumuler. J'ai pas vu "Mémoire de la France" si j'y suis cité c'est déjà pas si mal, d'habitude dans ce genre de bouquin je n'existe pas. Ni pour la Cerise, l'Hôpital, le prix Renaudot, ni pour le Cinoche. Je ne me plains pas puisque je n'écris pas pour la postérité. Mon prochain sort en septembre aux éditions du Rocher. "Madame de Saint Sulpice". Je ne pense pas que la presse catholique m'encensera. En tout cas j'espère amuser le lecteur et que tu sauras l'apprécier comme les autres. Tu es un fin gourmet de la chose écrite. J'espère que tu vas bien depuis ta dernière lettre. Moin amitié Ab." ["Old brother, thanks for your last two letters, I'm a bit overwhelmed (by success among other things) and I've let the mail pile up. I haven't seen "Mémoire de la France" if I'm cited in it that's not too bad, usually in this kind of book I don't exist. Neither for la Cerise, l'Hôpital, the Renaudot prize, nor for le Cinoche. I don't complain since I don't write for posterity. My next one comes out in September at éditions du Rocher. "Madame de Saint Sulpice". I don't think the Catholic press will praise me. In any case I hope to amuse the reader and that you'll know how to appreciate it like the others. You are a fine gourmet of written things. I hope you're well since your last letter. My friendship Ab."]
André Tillieu from Brussels, very close friend and biographer of Georges Brassens, maintained correspondence with Alphonse Boudard for almost thirty years, from 1972 until the latter's death in 2000.
The Parisian satirical writer very quickly showed him his friendship, considering him as one of the rare critics to understand him perfectly to the point of clearly explaining in his reviews what he himself expressed only incompletely and sometimes confusedly in his books.
André Tillieu thus became part of the small circle of Alphonse Boudard's true friends alongside Gros Georges (Georges Brassens), le Niçois (Louis Nucéra) and René Fallet with whom he loved to share hearty well-watered meals and cycling trips. As death gradually took away his best friends one by one, André Tillieu remained one of Alphonse's very last buddies.