Éditions Grasset
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Parent company | Lagardère Group |
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Founded | 1907 |
Founder | Bernard Grasset |
Country of origin | France |
Key people | Yves Berger, Edmonde Charles-Roux, Bernard-Henri Lévy, François Nourissier |
Publication types | Books |
Revenue | 19,5 millions € (2012) |
No. of employees | 39 (2012) |
Official website | www |
Éditions Grasset (French pronunciation: [edisjɔ̃ ɡʁasɛ]) is a French publishing house founded in 1907 by Bernard Grasset (1881–1955). Grasset publishes French and foreign literature, essays, novels and children's books, among others.
Bernard Grasset sold ownership of the company to
History
Under its Founder
Bernard Grasset was born in 1881 in Montpellier. He received a degree in economics before moving to Paris, where he ran in literary circles and started his own publishing business.
The company published a number of notable authors, including
In 1921, Grasset hired Daniel Halévy to edit a new line of books, Les Cahiers Verts (The Green Notebooks). The first entry in the series was Louis Hémon's Maria Chapdelaine. The series consisted of creative essays and fiction, like Malraux's Tentacion de l'Occident, and lasted through the early 1960s.[5]
Grasset publications were frequent literary prize-winners in France. Alphonse de Châteaubriant won the
In 1948 Bernard Grasset was convicted of collaboration with the Nazis in World War II, fined 10,000 francs and sentenced to "national condemnation for life."[7] Bernard Grasset was not the only person in his circle accused of collaborating, as Henry de Montherlant was also condemned for sympathizing with Nazis. Montherlant's book Le solstice de Juin was published by Grasset in 1941, and it hailed the German victory over France in 1940.[8]
In 1954 the company was sold to Hachette. The next year Bernard Grasset's nephew, Bernard Privat, was named the new head of Éditions Grasset. Bernard Grasset died in October of 1955.
Under Privat and Fasquelle
Bernard Privat formed a partnership with Jean-Claude Fasquelle and eventually merged Grasset with Éditions Fasquelle.
Yves Berger served as literary director for the company from 1960 to 2000.
In 1966,
In 1981, Grasset's parent company, Hachette, was taken over by Lagardère Group. Bernard Privat left the company, and Fasquelle took over as Grasset CEO. Fasquelle oversaw the creation of a new series, Les Cahiers Rouges (The Red Notebooks), modern classics in a "semi-pocket" format with recognizable red covers.
From 1981 to 2005, Lucien Bodard, Dominique Fernandez, Amin Maalouf, Patrick Rambaud, Pascal Quignard, François Weyergans, published by Grasset, won the Prix Goncourt. Jean-Marie Rouart, Raphaële Billetdoux, François Weyergans, Pascal Bruckner, Dominique Bona, Daniel Picouly, Frédéric Beigbeder, Virginie Despentes, Yann Moix, Olivier Guez, won the Prix Renaudot, from 1984 to 2017.
2000 and after
Olivier Nora, former CEO of the Hachette-owned publisher
In 2020, Grasset made news by publishing Vanessa Springora's Le Consentement (Consent).[9] The book is a memoir describing Springora's grooming and sexual abuse as a young teenager at the hands of author Gabriel Matzneff, who was 49 at the time.[10] Matzneff often wrote about pedophilia and sex tourism in his own work, and made no apologies for his predilections after Consent was published.[11] French authorities did bring charges against Matzneff, and for a time he evaded them by remaining out of the country. Two other women came forward with allegations of abuse in 2022, but as of 2023 it seems unlikely that Matzneff will stand trial.[12]
Three famous novels
- Une histoire française of François Nourissier, Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française)
- Du côté de chez Swann of Marcel Proust, published at author's expense
- Oublier Palerme of Edmonde Charles-Roux, Prix Goncourt
See also
References
- ^ "The Grasset House". Éditions Grasset. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ "Tous les laureats Prix Goncourt". Academie Goncourt. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ "Marcel Proust paid for reviews praising his work to go into newspapers". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ISBN 0226071952. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ISBN 0226071952. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ "Grand Prix du Roman". Academie Francaise. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ "Milestones, Oct. 31, 1955". Time. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ISBN 0804432562. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ "Le Consentement". Grasset. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ Leicester, John. "Explosive Book Alleging Underage Sexual Relationship With French Writer Prompts Outcry". Huffington Post. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ Onishi, Norimitsu. "Gabriel Matzneff, Who Wrote for Years About Pedophilia, Is Charged". NY Times. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ AFP. "French Police Question Disgraced Writer Over Rape Claims". Barrons. Retrieved 12 August 2023.