« Mon beau navire, ô ma mémoire... » Les paquebots de la malle d’Algérie (1830-1962)

Writing the history of the Algeria mail ships also means writing the history of their passengers and, for the majority of them, of the lost country.

Adapting together to the parallel developments of science, commerce, and customs, sharing the same historical events, serving the same flag to the extreme limits, all these challenges made the hearts of men and the pistons of the machines beat in unison.

Embarking on board through this essay recalls their saga, while the history of their psychology unfolds as a watermark, as it emerges from their conversations on the decks, crossing after crossing. It is the product of their dreams, their disappointments, their doubts, their fears, their prejudices, their pride, their guilty blindness before a general who thought he was the Richelieu of a crowned republic when he was only its Badinguet.

With a preface by Pierre Dimech.

The author, born on December 12, 1928, in Oran, a retired tax official who retreated to Montbéliard, has dedicated a large part of his work to Algeria. Poems, an essay (L’Algérie d’hier et d’aujourd’hui), two novels (La chanson d’amour qui toujours recommence and Le crucifix au-dessus du lit), and finally a narrative in Pataouète, the Jaleo, evoke the joys, the work, and the anger of the Pied-noir community.