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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

literature rights catalogue - plon january 2016

3

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.

FRENCH SALE — PAPERBACK (POCKET)


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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.


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.


« 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.


13

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.


15

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.

FRENCH SALES — PAPERBACK (POCKET) FOREIGN SALES — SPAIN (MALPASO) | GREECE (VASDEKIS) | CZECH REPUBLIC (HOST)

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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


17

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

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