Balzac’s Voice from the Beyond Adaptation and Mediumship in Charles d’Orino’s Contes de l’au-delà (1904)

This article explores the relationship between adaptation and mediumship in the Contes de l’au-delà : sous la dictée des esprits (1904) by Charles d’Orino, pseudonym of Clotilde Briatte. The author, who claims to channel the spirit of Balzac by transcribing his narrative voice, preaches a spiritualist doctrine. Drawing on the theories of Roland Barthes and Harold Bloom, this article studies the nature of psychography and its ability to interfere in the interaction of voices that underlie Balzac’s work.