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Plon | Les EscalesLiterature
rights catalogue
Foreign Rights Manager
Florence Maletrezflorence.maletrez@ editions-plon.com
January 2016
PLON
4 Around the Sunkarine silla
5 Monsieur is Deadkarine silla
6 Wild Dunesmarie dô
7 We Will Cross Togetherdenis lemasson
8 No Ice on an Empty Heartpatrick besson
9 Running after Shadowssigolène vinson
10 Our Solitary Soulsluc blanvillain
11 Hold back the Nightdenis tillinac
12 The Deadly Alliancepatrick weber
13 The Wolves of Sherwoodnicolas digard
14 The Chamber of Poisonsylvie gibert
15 Her Life through the Eyes of a Dollingrid desjours
16 Anne F.hafid aggoune
17 Rudik, the other Nureevphilippe grimbert
18 Love him or Leave himdelphine de malherbe
19 Lennondavid foenkinos
20 A Country with no Entryisabelle condou
21 Shapes of the Coming Dayleonora miano
22 Letizia R. Bonapartepatrick de carolis
23 The Victory of Napoleon’s armyvaléry giscard d’estaing
24 The Extravagantalexandra lapierre
LES ESCALES
26 Redcarl aderhold
27 The Captaingérard gréverand
CONTENTS
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In 1852 by Henri Plon and his two brothers founded Editions Plon, and were awarded the title of Imprimeur de l’Empereur (Emperor’s publisher). They published the correspondence of Louis Xiii, Marie antoinette and napoLeon i.Today, Plon still publishes numerous international stars, among whom the DaLai LaMa, neLson ManDeLa, Jane FonDa, anDre agassi, John Mcenroe, and works from personalities such as Sir Winston churchiLL or george W. Bush. In literature, saLMan rushDie, norMan MaiLer, naDine gorDiMer, anne rice or Donna tartt.
PLON is a leader in France in the field of the political, economic and societal documents. Its prestigious collections count authors such as cLauDe Lévi-strauss or siMone WeiL. PLON and the works of several French Presidents such as the generaL De gauLLe, georges poMpiDou, vaLéry giscarD D’estaing or François MitterranD, as well as titles from women around them, cLauDe poMpiDou, BernaDette chirac and more recently, geneviève De gauLLe-anthonioz.PLON belongs to Editis—the 2nd publishing company in France—and to the Spanish group Planeta.
Both by its history and by the prestige of its publications, Plon is one of the flagship brands of the company.
Foreign Rights ManagerFlorence Maletrez
[email protected]+33 (0) 1 44 16 09 30
Foreign Rights AssistantAgathe Bourachot
[email protected]+33 (0) 1 44 16 09 66
Editions Plon
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Around the Sunkarine silla288 pages | January 2016
When Louise walks away from everything for a new love and a new life in Vietnam, she erases her past and everyone who was in it. In France, her daughter, Marie, thinks she’s dead.
Playwright, filmmaker and screenplay-writer, karine silla is the author of Monsieur est mort, a critically acclaimed début novel published by Plon in 2014.
One rainy day, Louise meets a
man in a train. Within minutes,
the young woman has decided to
leave her boringly comfortable life
behind for the sake of this man who
smiles at her, whose green eyes
look straight into her own, and who
describes the names, the towns and
the oceans of his country, Vietnam.
His happiness contaminates her,
sweeping her off her feet.
With him, she is reborn. In a tiny
little house at the southern tip of
Vietnam, in the middle of vast
expanses of shimmering green
marshland, she discovers true love,
pleasure and joy, and gives birth to
a son who is as beautiful as the land
of his father, which has become his
mother’s home, too.
But Louise has left behind a
husband whom she married
because she didn’t know how to say
no; a mother who mumbles while
staring into the void of her memory;
and a child, Marie, whose needs she
never seemed to understand and
whose existence she has hidden
from the man on the train.
Despite her conviction that she
has done the right thing, the secret
gradually overwhelms Louise, Marie
and their loved ones.
After Monsieur est mort, Karine
Silla continues to explore how
family secrets continue to echo and
ricochet.
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Monsieur is Deadkarine silla208 pages | August 2014
Does the death of one’s father signify that it is time for the end of the secrets and the unsaid, time for forgiveness? Or is it the time for resurgent guilt?
The narrator of this unusual
novel is Vincent, the second of
four sons of the Rambaldi family.
Fifteen years ago, he conquered
his addiction to heroin by himself,
thanks to an energetic plunge into
Pascal’s Pensées, and left for India,
where he became a foreman in Mr
Kumar’s workshop, in Calcutta.
There, he tried to find a simple kind
of happiness.
But once again, destiny comes
knocking at his door, in a phone
call from his mother: “Your father is
dead.” Vincent considers mourning
a mere « formality », since, in his
mind, he burned his bridges long
ago. And he could ignore the
whole thing, but instead he drops
everything and returns to Paris for
the funeral. And yet, once he arrives
at the foot of the building where
he grew up—Louis Rambaldi, heir
of a family of Italian industrialists,
once owned the entire building,
which he turned into a fabulous
museum to his own ego—Vincent
is incapable of going up to the
apartment. He is suddenly flooded
with too many painful memories, all
of which come back to him during
his distraught and solitary flight
from the scene. Louis Rambaldi, a
monster who insisted that everyone
call him “Monsieur”, had reduced
his wife to a slave and did his sons
no service in their upbringing,
giving each of them a monthly
allowance of 40,000FR on condition
that, following his example, they
should never work! This sinister
education completely demolished
them. Gabriel, the eldest, commit
suicide after his father had forced
him into perverse sexual acts.
Julien, the youngest, who married
young to escape his family, has
failed at everything and become
a violent junkie. And last, Tristan,
who is miserable, tries to create an
identity by cross-dressing. Vincent,
of course, took off in order to save
himself. So, what if he were to just
turn around and go back to India,
without seeing anyone? Finally, he
decides to go upstairs, to go home,
for a reunion dinner that turns into
a free-for-all. And now he must
confront still another ordeal: how
will he react when he must face his
father’s corpse ?
Karine Silla is a playwright, screenwriter, and director, and one can sense all three in this restrained first novel, in monologues, in flashbacks, an original and well-plotted work. A true story that has become fiction — one that Mauriac would have adored.
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Wild Dunesmarie dô224 pages | March 2016
A funny and moving novel echoing to our lifelong quests for meaning, and our attempts to free ourselves from the contemporary individualist hubris.
Marie Dô is a dancer, choreagrapher, and a comedian. Her former novel Fais danser la poussière, was adapted into a movie and met a wide audience. It sold 20.000 copies in France, and was translated to Italian by Piemme.
Sebastian is an extremely busy
40something. He goes fast, travels
far, and works a lot. Too much?
Since he divorced Tess, nothing
works out. Neither drunken nights
nor sleeping pills can shut down
his regrets, his guilt, and his arising
existential crisis.
The alarming diagnosis of his
doctor is unquestionable: he
needs a vacation. However, the
catastrophic state of his bank
account leaves no room for
extravagance. Ironically, he will
have to stay in a bungalow at camp
Robinson, one that he bought to
his wife ten years ago to make up
for his recurring absence – and in
which he never set foot in.
When he gets there, a big surprise
awaits, Sebastian is appalled: Camp
Robinson is in fact a naturist camp!
A nightmare for this control-freak,
obsessed by his appearance.
Among the dunes in his birthday
suit, Sebastian is at odds with the
ghost of his ex-wife, his doubts
and his regrets. To make things
worse, he has to comply with his
new neighbors: a guru that speaks
to his defunct wife; a cougar artist
plagued by self-doubt along with
her abandoned husband and
his overwhelming good mood; a
young, pretty and mysterious yoga
teacher…
Will Sebastian let go of his clothes?
How profoundly will be able to
reassess himself?
Will this odd summer remain
a nightmarish experience? Or
will it help him emerge from his
devouring existential crisis?
This bittersweet novel, fun and
moving, filled with gleams of
sunshine, exposes a self quest
against the backdrop of a midlife
crisis. It also tells the story of an
attempt to escape from the hubris of
individualism in order to find new
horizons.
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Currently a doctor in Paris, Denis Lemasson has worked for Doctors Without Borders, in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Les routes fantômes (published in 2004 by Folies d’encre) was his first novel.
We Will Cross Togetherdenis lemassonJanuary 2016 | 400 pages
In the centre of Paris, Luc, a former French doctor, witnesses the murder of an Afghani refugee. Why did he have to die?
On an April Sunday in Villemin
Square, in the centre of Paris, Luc
is an eyewitness to the murder of
an Afghani refugee. Why did he
have to die? In order to answer the
dead man’s 4-year-old daughter’s
question, Luc launches into an
investigation that will revive
his own past as a humanitarian
doctor, seven years after he left
Afghanistan.
Caught in his own separation and
fatherhood issues, in attempting to
explore the life of Zaher, the victim,
Luc is drawn into the previously
unseen world of refugees and of
those who assist and guide them:
social workers, volunteers, doctors,
celebrities, politicians, police
officers and more… The stories of
Mehdi and Wahid, two Afghans who
describe their surreal travels from
Kabul to Paris, gradually unveiling
their truth about the murder, are
woven into Luc’s investigation.
How can the story of two Afghans
who have travelled halfway around
the world in search of shelter have
dire consequences thousands of
kilometres away? How can a fight
in a Parisian park echo in a village
Nangarhâr Province?
This fascinating investigation
creates a crime-fiction atmosphere
while giving a face and a body
to the issue of immigration, for a
multiple-narrator novel that calls
our entire society into question.
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No Ice on an Empty Heartpatrick besson192 pages | January 2016
Vincent Lagarde attracts the most stunning women, despite his weak heart and repulsive looks. When the sublime Karima agrees to marry him, no one can understand why…
An atypical and iconoclastic writer, Patrick Besson has had over 40 novels published. He won the 1985 Grand prix de l’Académie française and the 1995 Prix Renaudot. He has been a member of the Prix Renaudot jury since 2000, and is a feared literary critic.
FRENCH SALE — PAPERBACK (POCKET)
Vincent Lagarde has a weak heart
and an equally weak character; yet
despite his many flaws–chronic
congestive heart failure, an (overly?)
close relationship to his mother,
lack of education, ugliness—he
manages to seduce the most
beautiful women, marry them, and
turn them into his devoted full-time
care-givers. His neighbour watches
first Vanessa, then Sonia, each more
beautiful than the last, move in next
door—and tries to draw them to his
bed and to resolve the mystery of
their fascination with Vincent.
When rich, beautiful, independent
Karima’s turn comes, he becomes
obsessed with trying to understand
how a woman like that could marry
a man like Vincent. What event
in her past could push her into
his arms? Is it really just another
love story? In an atmosphere not
unlike a Simenon novel, Patrick
Besson explores small and large
lies, betrayal and guilt, stinginess
and family plotting, all over a while
offering a social critique that is no
less ferocious for staying in the
background.
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Running after Shadowssigolène vinson208 pages | August 2015
Paul Deville works as a trader in Africa for a Chinese corporation, while also trying to find poems that Arthur Rimbaud never wrote. A gripping immersion in the mechanisms of globalisation, as well as an ode to poetry.
7000 copies sold already
Born in 1974, Sigolène Vinson, a former lawyer, is a journalist (Charlie Hebdo, Causette and others) and a novelist. She was raised in Djibouti and now lives in Paris.
Frenchman Paul Deville works
for a large Chinese company
based in East Africa. From the Bab
el Mandeb Straits to the Gulf of
Aden, he travels around the Horn of
Africa in a “pearl necklace” strategy,
building a network of naval bases
to guarantee access to the natural
resources that China so desperately
needs.
A talented economist, Paul is torn
between his contribution to the
new Chinese imperialism and
his dreams of poetry and fiction.
To keep from losing himself, he
searches tirelessly for Arthur
Rimbaud’s «unwritten writing.»
Aghast at the damage he is
wreaking in a part of the world that
has fascinated him since he was
a child, he flees from port to port,
leading to encounters that are like
pearls strung on the necklace of
his tragic fate: Mariam, the Somali
fisherwoman who feeds herself
with fish, not hope; Cush, a former
illegal immigrant whose only dream
is to make it back to the West;
Louise, a fellow Frenchperson, who
is going back to Dunkirk with her
dissatisfaction about her life that
seems almost obscene in a place
where people are dying of hunger;
and finally, Harg, the Afar ancestor
who joins Paul in his quest for
Rimbaud’s lost poems, but who can’t
ignore the damage the Western
World has inflicted on his country
and his culture. Having been driven
by poverty and war into piracy, Harg
will be the instrument of Paul’s
tragic end.
FRENCH SALE — PAPERBACK (POCKET)
« A contemporary novel ; teaching us in magnificent prose that it is - sometimes - better to surrender. »| Telerama
« A poetic, wrenching and sensitive narrative–not unlike the author herself. »| Charlie Hebdo
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Our Solitary Soulsluc blanvillain336 pages | August 2015
In both his career and his couple, Clément analyses and calculates everything… Until the day he meets the emotionally damaged and unpredictable Meryl.
At Vogal Software, a high-
tech company on the thirteenth
floor of a skyscraper overlooking
Paris, ambitious Clément has been
managing his career skilfully.
Super-adaptable, super-connected,
Clément analyses, stocks, sorts and
takes advantage of the slightest
sign of weakness to surge past his
rivals. His girlfriend, Myriam, is
his most faithful ally in his battle
for power. Their evenings together
have turned into affectionate
debriefings about missed chances
and trying again. But the world isn’t
that cut and dry. Complex, messy
life oozes in, slowing him down,
overwhelming his thoughts… and
leading him to meet Meryl.
She is a young woman who
doesn’t go outside very much, and
throws up a lot. Sensitive, strange,
emotionally damaged, she doesn’t
try to appear normal. She is the
boss’s daughter, and her power is
incalculable.
An unusual relationship soon
springs up between them. A new
alliance is possible, a Faustian
contract. Will Clément lose his
freedom or win the place he so
ardently desires: a glass-walled
corner office, endless carpeting and
the luxury of silence.
With precision and delicacy, Luc
Blanvillain reveals the absurdity
of our contemporary quirks, and
questions the ties that hold us
back: the burden of parental love,
all-consuming ambition, the soft
fragility of couples, the tedium of
always having to be what people
expect.
Luc Blanvillain has written several well-received YA novels. He is a professor of French and literature, and lives in Morlaix, Brittany.
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Hold back the Nightdenis tillinac180 pages | September 2015
on the goncourt prize’s longlist10.000 copies sold already
Through the prism of a passionate affair between two lovers in their 60s, the sweetly cruel story of a generation – the lost children of the Baby Boom.
Author of over 40 books – fiction, non-fiction and poetry – that have earned him many accolades, Denis Tillinac’s work includes Je nous revois… (I Can Still See Us… Gallimard, 2006, Folio, 2008), Le Dictionnaire amoureux de la France (A France Lover’s Dictionary, Plon, 2008) and La nuit étoilée (The Starry Night, Plon, 2013).
This is the story of a youthful
affair between two aging lovers.
François and Hélène are both in
their sixties. They are both married
and have children and parents in
either elder-care or the ground.
Indolent, absent-minded François
is a doctor with an office in a village
by the Loire River, with a view of
Chaumont Castle, and a blue-blood
spouse named Claire.
Bored Hélène, the disappointed
wife of a nouveau-riche ad man,
is the mother of a social-climbing
40-something on the verge of his
first divorce.
Love—the real thing—takes them
both by surprise. At first, they have
a hard time believing it’s true. They
dedicate their lives, body and soul,
to this burning passion whose
secrecy both protects and imprisons
them. The tight little social circle of
their provincial town will carry them
far away, with both crazy happiness
and deep sadness.
Split in two parts, this book is a long
letter written first by François, and
in the second hand, by Hélène. Each
tells about the same events, but with
each one’s different point of view.
Do they have the same?
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The Deadly Alliancepatrick weber336 pages | février 2016
On May 6th 1938, the Fuehrer pays a visit to the Duce, in Roma while a young archeologist gets caught in the middle of peculiar events that could change the course of History.
Patrick Weber is an Art Historian and an Archeologist specialized in royalty. Since 2011, he is the « royal contributor » of a belgian radio program. He has published numerous historical novels, essays and documents, as well as movies and graphic novels scenarios. He lives between Brussels, Paris and Rome.
May 6th 1938, Mussolini welcomes
Hitler in Roma to celebrate the
alliance of Fascism and Nazism. The
Duce has planned everything for
this day to be unforgettable.
And unforgettable it will be, for
Claudio Rocchi included: this
archeologist from Predappio -
where Mussolini was born - is
trying to climb the career ladder,
raising no objections to the misuse
of Archeology by the fascist
propaganda. When he and his
master the Professor Ranucio
Bianchi Bandinelli—a Tuscan
aristocrat who abhors the regime—
are assigned the mission to guide
the Duce and the Fuehrer through
their journey in Rome, Rocchi sees
it as his chance to shine.
Soon, he discovers that an attack is
impending to free Europe of the two
dictators. Luisa, the beautiful and
rebel-at-heart daughter of Bianchi
Bandinelli is part of the scheme.
The attack highly threatens Sandro,
the “black” brother of Rocchi, and a
fervent backer of the regime.
Torn between his desire to
impress Luisa and the call to save
his brother’s life; fearing for his
own career and foreseeing the
tragedies to come; the mission that
Rocchi once saw as an amazing
opportunity to get a promotion
turns into a nightmare.
A hero in spite of himself, Rocchi is
caught up in an episode that could
change the course of History.
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The Wolves of SherwoodThe real Robin Hoodnicolas digard480 pages | April 2016
What if everything that has ever been written about Robinhood was false? In the stark reality of 1189’s England, here is the real story of Robin of Loxley, Prince of the thieves of Sherwood, from the birth of his legend to his tragic ending.
Nicolas Digard is an author and screenwriter for children’s books, graphic novels, and television. The wolves of Sherwood is his first novel.
Everybody knows Robinhood,
the big-hearted thief, robbing from
the rich and giving to the poor,
living in hiding with his merry men
in the forest of Sherwood, and the
passionate lover of Marianne. What
if everything was false?
Replacing Robin of Loxley in a real
historical context, in the stark and
violent reality of the middle-age
England, this novel sheds a more
nuanced light on this legendary
character.
Robin of Loxley never was the
romantic gentleman that he is
usually depicted as. Marianne
never was his lover: she played a
way more crucial part. Richard the
Lionheart merely spent six months
in England. Little-John and his
comrades were not merry men.
Here is the real story of Robin
of Loxley, Prince of thieves of
Sherwood, of his tragic—and maybe
deserved—ending, and of the birth
of his legend.
Robinhood is an enthralling figure,
yet there are few novels about his
life, which has never been explored
in its complexity. This novel
uncovers the man behind the myth.
For the first time, an historical myth
is deconstructed and relocated in
its much more realistic, somber and
violent context. Fascinating.
An effective and modern writing
for a surprising narrative, leading to
a sizable final climax: who is the «
real » Robinhood?
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The Chamber of Poisonsylvie gibert352 pages | March 2016
At the end of the 19th century in Paris, women were attempting to make a mark on the art world – and on the world itself. In the wake of the charming Zélie Murineau, The Chamber of Poisons recounts a fascinating investigation.
Sylvie Gibert is the author of three novels published by de Borée. She lives and works in Toulouse.
Paris, 1880. The Académie Julian
(now Penninghen School of Art)
is the first to open its doors to
women. Yet, life is not easy for
them. Learning the trade of a
painter is an arduous, long and
expensive process. Only talented
– and persistent - young ladies will
overcome the obstacles along the
way.
Zélie Mourineau does not lack
talent, nor character. In the past,
she proved that she was up for
anything, and unveiled a real talent
for pastiche.
When Alexandre d’Arboug, the
Police Chief of the Palais Royal
station, hires her to paint the
portrait of his goddaughter, Zélie’s
confidence is shaken: Is she
threatened? Does this order masks
somber intentions?
No matter the risks, she cannot
refuse the assignment of the
handsome Police Chief. From
shady public houses to upper class
receptions, she will help him discern
what only the great master painters
are able to see: the truth hidden
behind appearances.
Elegantly written, this novel exposes
two fascinating realms: the daily life
of a police station and the art world
in the age of impressionism.
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Her Life through the Eyes of a Dollingrid desjours336 pages | March 2013
25.000 copies sold!
A close cousin to Dorian Gray, Barbara’s answer to the murderous psychosis that has possessed her is to place her life in the hands of a porcelain doll.
Born in 1976, Ingrid Desjours is a psychologist who specializes in psycho-criminology. Having practiced in Belgium, where she worked with sex offenders, today she is a novelist and screenwriter. Her previous works are Echo and Potens (Plon, 2009 and 2010), both well received by critics and the public.
At twenty-four, Barbara has
forgotten the horror she lived
through one winter evening in a
deserted park. And yet, she did not
return unaccompanied from that
incursion to the heart of pain and
terror, bringing with her a vision, a
tenacious hallucination that appears
in glimpses in the bits and pieces
of her nightmares. The young
woman cannot escape from this
image. Haunted, obsessed, she is
compelled by an undying thirst for
vengeance she transfers to the doll
she has just bought.
And that is how the sweet and
unassuming Barbara is gradually
possessed by an evil double
who commits the most hideous
atrocities in her name.
Close on her heels is Marc Percolès,
a provocative and all-knowing cop
whose body and soul have more
scars than Frankenstein’s. He is the
first one to perceive the connection
between the little aesthetician and
the monster who tortures men at
nightfall. Ready to do anything
to catch her in the act, he will not
hesitate to run roughshod over
the rules to stop the escalation of
violence.
But during the investigation, he
realizes that Barbara may not
necessarily be the one controlling
her madness, and that others close
to her may benefit from its ongoing
consequences. And that he must
save her too.
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Born in Saint Etienne in 1973, Hafid Aggoune has written several well-received novels, including Les Avenirs (“The Futures”, Fénéon Prize and L’Armitière Prize). He lives and works in Paris.
After one of his students commits
a terrorist attack, the narrator,
an idealistic writer and teacher
who was devoted both to the
transmission of knowledge and to
literature, is devastated. As a son of
immigrant parents who achieved
integration through education, he
feels overwhelmingly guilty and
unable to shoulder the burden of
a failure that he sees as entirely
his. So he burrows into his worn
old copy of Anne Frank’s Diary,
which he hadn’t opened since his
school days. In a desperate bid to
find meaning in his life once again,
he decides to write a letter to his
“Jewish little sister,” bringing her
back to life in his pages. Will his
moving letter bring this man – who
is searching for a way to make
peace with both himself and his era
– out of the darkness and back into
the light?
While reminding us of the power
of books and of words, our still
youthful forty-something teacher
will examine his own existence, his
vocation and his country’s youth,
many of whom are torn between
tragic events and an identity crisis
that reverberates with the darkest
pages of modern European history.
He also portrays a father who was
essential to his son’s education
about both civic and secular
principles, a father who ran
marathons to try to hold back the
passage of time. But above all,
he looks directly at the dirty little
secret that no one in his family ever
mentions: his mother’s Jewish roots.
Unmentioned until that point, they
will form the heart of the tale, until
the final, liberating outcome.
Anne F.hafid aggoune162 pages | August 2015
After one of his students commits a terrorist attack, a young teacher turns to Anne Frank, his « Jewish little sister ». A novel that explores our contemporary identity crisis, radicalisation, the role of education in transmitting democratic principles.
« A genuine praise of tolerance and transmission, this beautiful and introspective novel hits home » | L’obs
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Philippe Grimbert is a psychoanalyst, writer, and essayist. His former novel, Un secret (Grasset, 2004 – Prix Wiso and Grand Prix des lectrices de Elle), was translated into 15 languages and met popular and critical success. He is also the author of several essays, about psychoanalysis.
Tristan Feller, a Parisian
psychoanalyst, is reputed to
have received a great number
of celebrities from the world of
performance or literature in his
consulting room. Wiser after these
years of practice, he enjoys this
reversal of the situation in which
these inaccessible idols strip
themselves of their mask to become
once again, through psychoanalytic
transfer, trembling children who
place their destiny in his hands.
One encounter with an uncommon
patient will nonetheless upset
his usual analytic behavior and
bring him, against his will, to
experience his practice in a
different light. Returning from
his first visit to Russia since his
famous leap towards liberty, Rudolf
Nureyev confides the reasons for
his profound depression to his
psychoanalyst…The aura of this
singular man imposes such an
unusual pace in the therapeutic
relationship that Feller rapidly
finds himself destabilized by his
encounter with the star.
Which one will actually lead the
dance and become the analyst of
the other?
Rudik, the other Nureevphilippe grimbert180 pages | January 2015
15.000 copies sold already!
A journey into the life story of a living legend
« An easy and often funny read, Philippe Grimbert’s novel subtly challenges the questions raised by the existence of those who refuse any form of self-analysis. »| le monde
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Love him or Leave himColette’s Latest Love Affairdelphine de malherbe129 pages | August 2011
Delphine de Malherbe imagines the moving confession of the greatest French writer of the 20th century, Colette.
Delphine de Malherbe, one of the most talented and sensual pens among young French writers, is the author of two remarkable novels, La femme interdite (Lattès, 2006), and Vie Érotique (Robert Laffont, 2008). She is also a literary critic and a successful playwright.
1920. Crowned with success,
Colette had been married for
the past eight years to Henry de
Jouvenel, politician and editor in
chief of the newspaper Le Matin,
when she first discovered his
infidelity. Stunned and dismayed,
she invited Henry’s 17-year-old son,
Bertrand, to her home in Brittany—
and promptly fell in love with him.
Acting decisively, Colette
confronted her own contradictions
and decided to take subtle revenge
for the past. For the naïve 20-year
old whose talent and virginity were
stolen by Willy, her first husband,
who signed the books she wrote
with his own name and paraded
his mistresses under her nose.
When she left him to earn her
own living, (rather than his), she
refined her writing skills and took
to doing audacious things, like
wearing men’s suits, or displaying a
breast. She opened her home to the
wounded of World War I, became
a court reporter and theatre critic,
won recognition when she was
elected to the Académie Goncourt,
and launched her own cosmetic
line. Her loves were many and
varied, men and women, her actions
judged so scandalous she was
denied religious rites at her burial.
Delphine de Malherbe gives the
reader an intimate glimpse into
the head and the heart of this
woman of passion and subtle
contradictions in the space of an
imagined session of psychoanalysis.
She ascribes a disturbing truth
to this icon who was so ahead of
her times, more outrageous than
Vivienne Westwood and Patti Smith
combined, friend of Cocteau and
Proust. Delphine de Malherbe, a
young writer given to bridging
taboos, journalist and recent author
of a steamy play, herself the child
of a forbidden love, treats the life of
the great writer like a treasure hunt,
one upon which she embarks armed
with a scalpel.
FOREIGN SALE — TURKEY (EVEREST PUBLICATION)
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Lennondavid foenkinos238 pages | November 2010
more than 30.000 COPIES SOLD IN FRANCE!TRANSLATED INTO 6 LANGUAGES
David Foenkinos draws an intimate and original portrait of John Lennon, musical icon of the 20th century, imagining what he might have said during a series of fictive psychoanalytic sessions and concentrating on a little-known period of his life.
David Foenkinos is the author of several novels, including La délicatesse, 2009, Nos séparations, 2008, Qui se souvient de David Foenkinos ? (Prix Giono 2007) and Le potentiel érotique de ma femme, published in 2004, for which he was awarded the Prix Roger-Nimier.
After a rough childhood and a
precocious plunge into enormous
celebrity, the decisive encounter
with Yoko Ono and the years of
drug-fogged aimlessness, John
Lennon decided to interrupt his
career in 1975, at 35, to take care of
his son, Sean.
For five years, in New York, he did
not produce an album and shied
away from a media-dominated
existence, finding pleasure in the
simple things. It was during this
period that he took the time to
reflect upon the madness of his life
until then.
The result is an imagined series of
psychoanalytic sessions, between
September 21, 1975, and December
7, 1980, the eve of his assassination
by a mentally disturbed young man.
In the form of an extended
monologue, David Foenkinos takes
the universal symbol represented
by a lead artist of the Beatles and
offers the reader an intimate portrait
of the man. Much more than a
biography, this book is above all the
work of an accomplished writer.
FRENCH SALES — PAPERBACK (MARABOUT) | BOOKCLUB (FRANCE LOISIRS) FOREIGN SALES — ITALY (NEW BOOK) | SPAIN (SANTILLANA) | RUSSIA (AST) | POLAND (ZNAK) | KOREA (THE OPEN BOOKS CO) ROMANIA (RAO).
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A Country with no Entryisabelle condou312 pages | August 2013
A stowaway on a freighter threatens to impede the voyage of three Europeans. What will prevail, the desire to help him or the inclination to ignore any humane instinct and just get on with their trip?
Plon has already published three works by Isabelle Condou: Il était disparu (2004), Solitude de l’aube (2007), and La Perrita (2009). This novel has been chosen by major French bookstore chains and was also awarded the Grand prix des lecteurs du web for the French novel.
A stowaway on a freighter
threatens to impede the voyage
of three Europeans. What will
prevail, the desire to help him or the
inclination to ignore any humane
instinct and just get on with their
trip?
Aboard a freighter travelling
between Europe and the Pacific,
the discovery of a clandestine
passenger creates a problem for
three travelers who have paid their
way. What should they do? Turn
him in? Help him to attain his
dream? Or just get rid of him? Their
consciences stirred, relationships
are formed, ones that involve each
one’s past, but whatever their
respective and fluctuating positions
regarding this man who has no
right to expect anything of them,
the personal concerns of each take
precedence over those of the man
whose life is at stake.
Leaning over the ocean mirror,
Bohdan, Marek, and Josephine, all
three of them loners, individuals
at once complex and monstrously
banal, heave the man into the sea,
drowning as well their desires
and their fears. This is a tale that
explores a sadly familiar subject,
the problem of clandestines and the
inhuman treatment that sometimes
leads to their simply being thrown
overboard. Having spent several
months on a freighter, the author
is familiar with the unique ocean-
going atmosphere that soon engulfs
the reader’s imagination.
« In the bay, the freighters at anchor turned their prows into the wind (….) From here, the stowaway could have swum to shore, it was still possible to throw him overboard from here »| Le Monde des Livres
« Isabelle Condou’s Un pays qui n'avait pas de port an instant favorite. » | Cosmopolitan
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Shapes of the Coming Dayleonora miano280 pages | August 2006
The initiatory journey of a little girl who continues to believe in the future of an Africa that no longer knows how to love its children
80.000 COPIES SOLD IN FRANCE!TRANSLATED INTO 6 LANGUAGESGUEST OF HONOUR FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR 2015
Léonora Miano grew up in Cameroon and now lives in Paris. Her first novel, L’Intérieur de la nuit, was immensely successful, garnering two literary prizes and leading the list of Lire magazine’s « Best French novels of the year ». Her latest work is, once again, devoted to Africa and demonstrates anew the power of an incisive and entrancing style.
War has ravaged Mboasu, this
imaginary African state that is only
too true to life, bleeding the country
dry. Families no longer able to care
for their children accuse them of
being the source of misfortune and
chase them from home. And so
little Musango becomes a street kid.
Kidnapped, then sold by traffickers
in child trade, she is sequestered
by pimps who use the activities
of a religious sect to mask their
unspeakable commerce in flesh.
Determined to return to her mother,
Musango escapes, fleeing across
a country gone mad, victim of
unprecedented moral and material
poverty.
All along her arduous journey, she
talks to her mother, who symbolizes
an Africa that has lost its bearings.
Musango embodies the generation
of those who must build without
past references.
Will her encounter with the young
Mbalé signal a new dawn for the
entire continent?
FRENCH SALES — PAPERBACK (POCKET) FOREIGN SALES — BRAZIL (PALLES EDITORA) | ITALY (EDIZIONE EPOCHE) | PORTUGAL (EUROPRESS) | SWEDEN (SEKWA) | CHINA (YINPANG BROTHER PUBLISHING )
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Letizia R. Bonapartepatrick de carolis400 pages | October 2014
After his two best-sellers, Les Demoiselles de Provence and La Dame du Palatin, Patrick de Carolis presents the fictionalized diary of Napoleon’s mother, based upon original archives to which he was granted access.
30.000 COPIES ALREADY SOLD!HIS PREVIOUS BOOK LA DAME DU PALATIN SOLD 60.000 COPIES!
Patrick de Carolis is a journalist, producer, and host of «Des racines et des ailes» and «Le Grand Tour», programmes on France 3 television. President of France Télévisions from 2005 to 2010, he is the co-author, with Bernadette Chirac, of Conversation (Plon, 2003). His two historical novels Les Demoiselles de Provence (2005) and La Dame du Palatin (2011) have both been best sellers.
« Who could have foreseen such
a glorious future? How can one
imagine giving birth to so many
kings and queens, princes and
princesses, and to this demi-god
who made all of Europe tremble?
The flight of the eagle. The Battle
of Italy and the 18th of Brumaire,
the Consulat and then the Empire,
and we, his family, caught up in
the wake of his fabulous destiny.
Named Imperial Highness by the
grace of my son, I shall never forget,
despite all the wealth and glory,
that the initials of my title were
limited to L.R.B (Letizia Ramolino
Bonaparte).
I never allowed myself to be
impressed by the finery of the
Empire, the only thing that mattered
to me was the future of my children.
Those who suffered the most were
my favorites. The fate of Lucien was
the source of my greatest despair.
Refusing to take orders from his
brother, he would be removed from
the succession. Joseph, the eldest,
hesitated in his choices; Louis was
too fragile to rule. My daughters
were flighty or ambitious, brilliant
and fickle. Jerome was immature
and a spendthrift. My heart bleeds
for all of them. They enjoyed the
greatest honors, and today they are
stateless. They turn to me for help,
a source of support. My thriftiness,
this miserliness of which all accuse
me, allows me to soften their
burdens.
Mater Napoleonis I have been, to
the point of exhaustion. I’ve seen it
all — the farewells of Fontainebleau,
the retreat to the Island of Elba,
the Hundred Days and the final
fall, and exile to Saint Helena. I
wanted to join him there, but he
refused. In desperation, I wrote to
all the crowned heads of Europe.
Nothing. Not even an answer. I was
inconsolable. And then this death
without honor, of which I learned
later on. Elisa was no longer with
us, Pauline was nearing the end
of her days, and then the Duc de
Reichstadt and still others. My lot
of misfortunes seems limitless. I
loved them all so much, but I have
suffered so. Am I not the mother of
all sorrows? » Patrick de Carolis
FRENCH SALES — PAPERBACK (POCKET) | BOOKCLUB (FRANCE LOISIRS)
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The Victory of Napoleon’s armyvaléry giscard d’estaing320 pages | January 2011
What if Napoleon had won the campaign of Russia?
25.000 COPIES SOLD IN FRANCE!TRANSLATED INTO 3 LANGUAGES
Born in Coblence (Germany) on february 2nd 1926, he won the french Presidential election in 1974. He continues to be a fervent advocate of the European Union, both polical and monetary.
On September the 14th 1812,
Napoleon makes an entrance
Moscow. His Generals are urging
him to leave immediately to avert
catastrophe. He therefore gives an
astonishing order to his Marshalls:
the Great Army will leave Moscow
and return to France the very next
day.
Far from fleeing, he is actually
maneuvering to ambush Koutouzov,
and force him to attack.
François Beille—the real hero of this
book—will stay in touch with the
enemy, leading them to believe that
the rearguard of the Great Army is
dangerously close.
Once the misconception evaporates,
Koutouzov rushes in the footsteps
of the Emperor, hoping to prevent
him from leaving the country. The
battle will happen where Napoleon
planned it, near Vilna, not far from
the Niémen. The Russian army
is defeated – which inaugurates a
new era. Back in France, Napoleon
abdicates in favor of his adoptive
son, Eugene de Beauharnais, and
focuses on peace.
Two hundred years after the facts,
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing rewrites
History in this original and
convincing novel, shedding light on
the life of the times, the war, and two
passionate love stories.
FRENCH SALES — PAPERBACK (J’AI LU) FOREIGN SALES — ARGENTINA (EDHASA) | POLAND (SONIA DRAGA) | RUSSIA (POLITICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA)
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The Extravagantalexandra lapierre264 pages | May 2010
To dare to live is to triumph over all. In the waning 18th century when Marie Antoinette presided over Versailles, amid the embers of a century of danger, abuse, and sensuality, a grand lady of England created a scandal. A true story.
Alexandra Lapierre’s tales of adventure are always backed up by solid research as she breathes life into the grand ladies History seems to have forgotten. She is the author of Fanny Stevenson (250 000 copies sold), which was awarded the « Grand Prix des lectrices de Elle »; Artemisia, which won the Sorbonne’s « Prix du XVIIe siècle » and was elected “Book of the Week” by the BBC, and Elles ont conquis le monde : les Grandes aventurières 1850-1950, which has been translated worldwide. Her latest work, published by Plon, Tout l’honneur des hommes, received the « Prix des Romancières ».
Her name was Elizabeth
Chudleigh. A member of the lesser
nobility, she became the King of
England’s protégé and the Empress
of Russia Catherine II’s friend.
Married secretly at 23, she hid the
fact in order to marry the love of
her life, the wealthiest duke in all
of England. When the secret was
discovered, she faced trial and
judgment at Westminster and the
threat of branding with a red hot
iron. History’s most eventful and
tumultuous bigamy trial had begun!
Her passion for life was equal
to her passion for love, pleasure
and power. Elizabeth Chudleigh
never did anything half-way and
refused to limit her desires.She
knew what she wanted by instinct,
and, instinctively, she knew how to
fight to get it. She weathered low
blows, defeat and humiliation and
went through disasters only she
could have survived. Indomitable,
indestructible, she stood every
setback and then inevitably
bounced back, transforming her
debacles into triumphs. Elizabeth
Chudleigh’s will, courage, panache,
and free spirit were stronger than
the forces of destiny.
Alexandra Lapierre follows the
traces of this splendid adventuress
to the castles of England and on
the roads of Italy, France, and
Russia, for she left her mark on
nearly every European court. For
‘Miss Chudleigh’ everything was
possible. Everything, that is, except
indifference towards life.
40.000 COPIES SOLD!
« Lively, funny, bubbling, this true» novel by Alexandra Lapierre is one of THE books of the summer. » | Le Nouvel Observateur
FRENCH SALES — PAPERBACK (POCKET) | BOOKCLUB (FRANCE LOISIRS)FOREIGN SALES — SPAIN (EDITORIAL PLANETA | ITALY (IL SAGGIATORE)
The only true voyage of discovery, as Proust wrote in The Prisoner « would be not to visit strange lands but to possess other eyes, to behold the universe through the eyes of another, of a hundred others ». To possess other eyes to enter the secret lives of men and women like us, in any place or time: this is the challenge taken on by our new imprint, Les Escales, under which the first authors to be published are Carl Aderhold, Vincent Engel, Diane Peylin, Gérard Gréverand and Jérôme Chantreau.From the tremors of History to somber family secrets Les Escales recounts modern odysseys in dazzling prose, unveiling lands of dream and escape.
We hope you enjoy the books!
Les EscalesDomaine français
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A trained historian, Carl Aderhold was for a long time an editor, before dedicating himself to writing. He is the author of numerous acclaimed novels, Mort aux cons (Hachette Littératures) tremendously successful selling 170.000 copies, Les poissons ne connaissent pas l’adultère, Fermeture éclair (both published by JC Lattès).
While emptying the house of
his deceased father, Carl recovers
a notebook from his childhood.
On the front page in his own
handwriting, the title is: “History
of my family”, and below “From
Köln to Paris, four generations
of Aderholds”. Slowly, memories
come to the surface: those of
his childhood, his family and its
malediction.
What kind of curse did Peter—this ancestor who deserted the German army right before World War I to become a French citizen—bring upon the Aderhold family? How about Georges, the
stern grandfather? Was he not
condemned to failure – he who
attempted one drunken night to
stop a whole SS regiment? And
what is there to say of the father,
Pierre Decazes, a comedian and
flamboyant communist who turned
his life and that of his family into
political theater?
Brought up with the contradictions
of ideology and its need for an
underlying fiction, Carl Aderhold
tells us the story of French youth,
but also that of the birth of a writer,
for whom the remembrance of
failure is both a consolation and a
serenade of love.
Red is the most intimate and
powerful novel yet by Carl
Aderhold, inaugurating a turn in
his writing career. In the same
vein as editorial successes such
as Le Chagrin by Lionel Duroy
and Rien ne s’oppose à la nuit by
Delphine de Vigan, Red draws the
portrait of a French family and its
misfortunes.
Redcarl aderhold320 pages | March 2015
In dazzling prose, Red recounts the incredible story of a French family caught up in the turmoil of the 20th century.
A LANDMARK PUBLISHING EVENT TO LAUNCH OUR NEW IMPRINT: LES ESCALES – FRENCH LITERATURE
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The Captaingérard gréverand300 pages | April 2016
An extraordinary journey through the 20th century, following the destiny of a Dutch sea captain across oceans.
A former literature professor, Gérard Gréverand has worked for the Alliance Française in Amsterdam and Ankara. He now runs the Alliance Française of Nanjing. An author of children’s books and essays on language, this is his first novel.
1932. As he turns 15, Archibald
Van Kortrijk, enrolls himself as
ship’s boy on the Black Star, a
freighter that connects Amsterdam
to Cape Town. Onboard, he will
discover the roughness of the days
at sea, the promiscuity with of the
crew, the bad food, but also the
beauty of the world.
One afternoon, a violent fight
breaks out with the second in
command on the ship, Andriezsoon.
Bart may have won the fight, but he
also won himself an enemy for life.
1949. Having spent a few years
on land, Bart is finally able to sail
again. He embarks to Indonesia,
without knowing that on this warm
and mellow Island, he will meet the
delightful Kusuma. Yet, some say
that sailors marry no women but the
sea herself…
In this novel of entangled
adventures, love stories and
memories, from the mists of the
Low Country to sultry Jakarta, you
will encounter Rackham the Red
and Jacques Brel.
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Foreign Rights ManagerFlorence Maletrez
[email protected]+33 (0) 1 44 16 09 30
Foreign Rights AssistantAgathe Bourachot
[email protected]+33 (0) 1 44 16 09 66
CONTACT