Starting in May 1896, Massenet took advantage of his new-found freedom to spend the rest of the year far from Paris. He accompanied Ninon first to Néris-les-Bains, then in August, they traveled to Murat.

According to the Massenet family tradition, the authenticity of Massenet's Souvenirsis questionable. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to quote some of its contents.

According to research by the late Patrick Gillis, Massenet asked Gérard Bauer to help write his memoirs.The future critic also later admitted that Massenet had confided in him. According to family tradition, this “autobiography,” whose style differs in every respect from that which Massenet used in his correspondence, his articles, or his speech, must be taken with a grain of salt. As long as the reader maintains a critical and objective perspective, it can sometimes contribute important information.

The texts constituting Souvenirshad been published in installments in the newspaper L'Echo de Parisduring winter 1911. Massenet's illness was probably the reason for his lack of interest in this project, and there is no proof that he endorsed their publication as a book of memoirs. The articles were published in book form by Laffitte after the composer's death. This process explains why ellipses are found in the text in book format.

Everyone must draw his own conclusion concerning the authenticity of these texts. The 1992 edition of Massenet's Souvenirs, abundantly annotated by Gérard Condé, nevertheless corrects many mistakes and inaccuracies.