The introduction of the cipher 0 or the group concept was general nonsense, too,
and for a thousand years or two mathematics was more or less stagnating,
because nobody was around to make such childish steps . . .
When addressing the substantial body of unpublished works by A. Grothendieck, two main aspects come to light. Firstly, in his active years, it was a recognizable pattern of his methodology that he had to think about so many ideas that sprung into his mind, that he often left to colleagues or students the details of their consequences, leaving an important body of notes that would serve for these needs. Secondly, a notable facet of Grothendieck’s life and work is his gradual withdrawal from the world. This successive isolation began with his departure from the main institution of his active years, namely the IHÉS in 1970, at just 42. It continued with his distancing from the mathematical community, and ultimately culminated in his detachment from society and family. By 1991, he had isolated himself, adopting a hermit-like existence until his passing in 2014. This self-imposed isolation bequeathed us an extensive collection of intermittent, both lengthy and concise, mathematical reflections and literary meditations. These two main aspects are even more essential when we recognize the importance Grothendieck gave to writing.
Among the wealth of materials, there are discernible documents that, in a sense, stand as finished works. Below, you will find a selection of these. They have been organized into two helpful categories: scientific and literary works, for ease of reference. They have been chosen from original sources or the archives presented in the next section. While we are committed to expanding this selection with other clearly referentially items, we also extend an open invitation for collaborations to publish, digitize, scan, and more.
This collection was entrusted by A. Grothendieck to one of his former students, Jean Malgoire, a professor-researcher at the University of Montpellier. It encompassed a wide range of materials, including preprints, extensive mathematical notes and manuscripts in various stages of development and completion, as well as a substantial portion of his meticulously organized scientific and private correspondence, comprising thousands of pages. The delivery of these materials was carried out in two stages, in June or July 1990 when Grothendieck was preparing his departure from Mormoiron, and on July 28, 1995. Subsequently, Jean Malgoire received explicit permission to deal with the documents he had received as he judged it appropriate. Jean Malgoire kept the Grothendieck archives at his home until 2010, when they were deposited at the University of Montpellier. They were donated from Jean Malgoire to the University in 2012.
Since May 2017, part of this archive, known under the name of Fonds Grothendieck, has been available online and can be accessed at the link below:
A collection of unpublished manuscripts by A. Grothendieck has been integrated into the National Library of France collections. Bequeathed by Grothendieck to the Library, this collection is complemented by a donation from his children. It consists, on one hand, of a corrected typescript of La Clef des Songes, and on the other hand, of a handwritten work titled Réflexions sur la Vie et le Cosmos, spanning across 41 volumes and composed of Géométrie élémentaire schématique (1992), Structures de la Psyché, developed from 1992 to 1993, Équations de Maxwell (1992-1994), and Le Problème du Mal, a work composed between 1993 and 1997, of almost 15,000 pages. This collection, of major importance for research, joins the Manuscripts department of the BnF alongside those of other eminent scientists.
Since September 2023, access to this archive, known under the name of Fonds Alexandre Grothendieck, has been possible but restricted to in-person visits by researchers. You can consult it at the Richelieu Library – Manuscripts Reading Room.
More information are available at the link below:
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