Though universally known as a magazine illustrator, Georges Léonnec only ever illustrated two books – Maud et les trois jeunes gens (Maud and the Three Young People), a rather tedious 1917 novel by Albert-Jean, the pen-name of Marie Joseph Albert François Jean (1892–1975), and seventeen years later this illustrated edition of the Roman writer Longus’s only known work, Daphnis and Chloe. This second book commission is by far the superior.

Set on the island of Lesbos during the second century, this is a remarkably modern tale, its main characters, the boy Daphnis and the girl Chloe learning the hard way about the rocky road from childhood innocence to adult relationship. Both children are left alone in the countryside at birth, along with tokens identifying who they are. A goatherd named Lamon discovers Daphnis, and a shepherd called Dryas finds Chloe; each decides to raise the child he finds as his own. Daphnis and Chloe grow up together, herding the flocks for their foster parents. They fall in love but, being naive, do not understand what is happening to them. Philetas, a wise old cowherd, explains to them what love is and tells them that the only cure is kissing. Shortly afterwards Lycaenion, a woman from the city, educates Daphnis in love-making, but Daphnis chooses not to test his newly-acquired skill on Chloe because Lycaenion tells Daphnis that Chloe will scream and lie bleeding. Meanwhile Chloe is courted by suitors, two of whom attempt with varying degrees of success to abduct her. After several more adventures Daphnis and Chloe are recognised by their birth parents, get married, and live happily ever after.

Léonnec clearly enjoyed working on Daphnis and Chloe; as well as the sixteen full-page plates he also created coloured chapter headings and small monochrome tailpieces for the introduction and each of the four chapters. Finished just before his diagnosis with cancer, they have the feel of an artist remembering what it was like to be young, innocent, and in love.

The Léonnec-illustrated Daphnis and Chloe was published by Librairie Floury in a limited numbered edition of 3,500 copies.