Si le grain ne meurt

André Gide, Françoise Adnet

This autobiography recounts the life of Gide from his childhood in Paris until his engagement with his cousin Madeleine Rondeaux in 1895. The book has two parts. In the first, the author recounts his childhood memories: his private tutors, his time at the Ecole Alsacienne, his family, his friendship with Pierre Louÿs, the start of his veneration of his cousin, and his first efforts at writing. The much shorter second part recounts his discovery of his homosexuality during a trip to Algeria, part of which was with Irish writer Oscar Wilde.