The Cross of Berny; Or, Irene's Lovers

'The Cross of Berny; Or, Irene's Lovers' is a collaborative novel written by some of France's greatest authors at the time: Delphine de Girardin, Théophile Gautier, Jules Sandeau, and Joseph Méry. The book is an epistolary-style novel that captures the correspondence between four characters whose names are the pseudonyms of the four authors of the book. The use of this technique allows each of the prominent characters an individuality otherwise very difficult to attain. In this way also any differences of style which there may be, tend rather to heighten the effect, and to increase the reality of the characters.