The Romance of Archives, le romanesque des archives

In the minds of the general public, the word "archives" often evokes the image of dusty piles of daunting paperwork. Archivist work seems far removed from the realities of life. It is actually quite the opposite: the use of archives to gain knowledge of the past can be compared to the use of biological analysis to understand modern medicine.

"Such was my fortunate discovery when I examined the accounts of Marie Curie, discoverer of radium. I wanted to reconstruct her tragedy on the eve of the war, when, as the widow of Pierre Curie, she was publicly criticized for her affair with Paul Langevin. At the end of an analysis that included accounting records and surprising details on her private expenditures, I saw a lover arise: Marie Curie was a vibrant, passionate woman, much more endearing than the icon of the sacrificial scientist that the legend proposes to us. The archives, too, show us that reality is much more fertile in romance than any fiction" as Irene Frain explains during the conference.

* Meaning : Marie Curie Takes a Lover