"... Le reste nous permettant à peine de vivre comme des concierges retraités, - sans personnel !!!!..."

Autograph letter signed by Roger Martin du Gard, 36 lines in black ink on bristol card recto verso, written from his furnished lodgings in Nice to the contractor who must manage the damage that occurred in one of the real estate properties he owns.
A small ink stain in the left margin of the recto and slightly affecting the word "sinistrées".
The father of the Thibaults shows himself terrified by the extent of the damage his Parisian real estate has suffered and the inherent expenses to deal with it: "Your letter caused me some fright... To attack the repairs from underneath, if I understand correctly, would this mean gutting the ceilings?"
Roger Martin du Gard already sees the troubles parade by and his meager savings dwindle: "... because they always entail a cascade of repairs, touch-ups, adjustments, very difficult, very expensive due to a host of accessory expenses poorly predictable in advance and which cause various trades to follow one another... One never knows where one is going..." while he already lives frugally, his material situation having deteriorated over the years: "I have little left to count on but my professional earnings, which have diminished by three-fifths... [...] The remainder barely allowing us to live like retired concierges, - without staff!!!!"

Letter in which the father of the highly successful saga "Les Thibault" shares his impecuniosity with us.