FALL

2013

PLON www.plon.fr

Alain Rey

Dictionnaire amoureux du

Diable Plon

RIGHTS SALES MANAGER FLORENCE MALETREZ

[email protected]

PLON & PRESSES DE LA RENAISSANCE 76, rue Bonaparte - 75284 PARIS CEDEX 06 Tel : + 33 (0) 1 44 41 35 33 Fax : + 33 (0) 1 44 41 30 53

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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. AUTHOR: 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. Publication: August 22, 2013 - 352 pages # #

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From Russia to the United States, the amazing destiny of a Russian aristocrat, the man who was Czar for a few hours after the abdication of Nicholas II, during the turbulent events of 1917. A gripping historical fresco that includes the great political and artistic figures of Europe leading up to the ‘20s and beyond: Rasputin, Nicholas II, Chanel, Cocteau, and more. The narrator is a member of the Russian imperial family living in exile. In the early 20th century, he lived through the troubled times that swept away the old world, participating in the grand dukes’ plot against Rasputin and his subsequent murder in December 1916. He tells of the preparations for the crime, the many visits to the Czar that encouraged the monk to let down his guard, and the ball on the ice of the frozen-over Neva just before Rasputin’s assassination. Then came the Revolution that would make him Czar for a few hours, at the abdication of Nicholas II. And his flight to Crimea, where he joined the ranks of the White Russian armies, determined to defeat the Revolutionaries at any cost. He tells of the insane actions of some of his superiors, who organized a hunt, riding to hounds with a Jewish revolutionary as prey. An abomination in which he participated, one that would haunt him all his life. Finally, he landed in France, in exile. Here, he divided his time between Paris and Biarritz, in the company of Anna de Noailles, Cocteau, Balthus, Chanel, and other well known figures. This rarefied milieu led him to meet an American actress whom he married, leaving Europe to live in the United States. In Europe, years passed and the Nazis took power in Germany, tempting him with promises to conquer Russia and put him back on the throne. AUTHOR: Born in 1972 in Paris, Jean-Félix de La Ville Baugé studied law and economics. Having spent years working in humanitarian associations (in Rwanda, Cambodia, Sudan, and Chechnya), for the past five years he has been director of the Franco-Russian newspaper and publishing house Le Courrier de Russie in Moscow. He has already published two novels, Entre deux cils (Plon 2002, Pocket 2004) and Votre fils (Plon 2004), and contributed to a short story anthology, Bonnes Vacances (Gallimard jeunesse 2004). Publication : August 22, 2013 – 288 pages

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When a long ago love affair of youth blooms anew at fifty, is it possible to resume such a passion with the same spontaneity and the same lack of ulterior motive one experienced at twenty? Milena and Louis were in love when they were in lycée and then lost touch. Many years later they meet again at a Book Fair. Louis has become an anthropologist and is the author of a bestseller about lovelife. Milena is a bookseller. They spend an evening together, see each other the next day, and begin to tell each other of their respective lives. For her, this involved moving to Martinique on a whim, then a disappointing marriage to a businessman from New York before she decided to return to France. For him, life was full of many journeys, many women, and a great love affair that was tragically destroyed by jealousy. They find themselves tempted to renew this old love, this time, perhaps, giving it every chance of turning out well. Their ostensibly banal stories and Louis’s perceptions as an anthropologist blend with questions about feelings of love and about sexuality. What do men, and women, really want? What role does the instinct of domination play, and where does possessiveness fit in? What can one attribute to feelings, and what to animal law? What does one really seek, beyond pleasure, in the union of two bodies? A simple story, with compelling flesh-and-blood characters one relates to, ultimately recognizing, over the pages, oneself. AUTHOR: Writer, journalist, editor, producer of programmes for radio and television, Dominique Simonnet was editor in chief of L’Express until 2007. He has written several essays, including the best-selling La Plus Belle Histoire du monde (conversations among Yves Coppens, Hubert Reeves and Joël de Rosnay, published by Seuil, 1996) and, more recently, 11 septembre, le jour du chaos (Perrin, 2011). With historian and political analyst Nicole Bacharan, he co-authored the Némo series of works that make science accessible to a broad public. He is also the author of a novel, L’Heure de pointe (Actes Sud, 2010). Publication : August 22, 2013 – 272 pages !

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Van Gogh’s famous painting, “The Starry Night”, is the pretext of an intimate erotic and cultural exchange among three people whose passion for art and pleasure at being together help them to escape the world they find insipid and absurd. Behind closed doors, three beings who share their twilight romanticism. Kalf, an enigmatic writer. Victor, his Parisian publisher. And Claire, the lost love of one, the muse of the other. They are past sixty, she has just turned forty. They feel like exiles in a world where the heavens seem to have lost their stars. Their shared passion for art saves them, but at the same time it isolates them. Claire lives in Maussane, at the foot of the Alpilles, teaches art history and believes in God. Under a nom-de-plume, Kalf writes books where oblivion often confronts the absolute. Victor is a disillusioned aesthete. He lives vicariously through Claire, whom he worships, and Kalf, who fascinates him. Each of the three has his secrets, and his wounds as well. A trio of misfits, they drift like a frail barque on the ocean, from Lausanne to Vichy, from the Riviera to Biarritz, from the Virgins of Trecento to the visions of Nicolas De Staël, from sublime happiness to utterly bleak sadness. It is a love story with disturbing epilogues. A novel of social mores in whose compelling characters each of us recognizes elements of himself. What are the bonds between Claire and Kalf? Victor’s tale gives us the keys, and Claire’s throws light upon the mystery. By revealing their intimacy, they paint the world in which we live with a blend of confusion, irony, nostalgia and tenderness. They are pathetic, and they are afraid of being ridiculous. Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” seems to be their sole compass, but what Paradise will it take them to! AUTHOR: Denis Tillinac has written over forty works—novels, essays, narrative accounts, biographies, poetry—and won several literary awards. La Nuit étoilée is the most profound work of this master of style. He invites us into his world, recalling the days when he was a Parisian publisher. Publication : August 22, 2013 – 288 pages

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Through the story of David Martin, a novel which portrays the last days of the working class. At a time of disindustrialisation, this novel offers a glimpse of a world that is little by little fading into the past. The Martin family lives in a little town in a working class valley in France. David is the youngest. The death of his late father is among the few the working class suffered during the turmoil of May 1968. Today, David is a disillusioned youth desperately seeking his path, deep within him a dull anger centered upon the ghost of his father, victim of a would-be revolution that wasn’t worth dying for. He is both annoyed with and sympathetic to the activism of his uncle, Alain, an idealistic union worker who apparently learned nothing from the failure of 68, believed the great day had finally arrived with the Socialist victory of 1981, has never had more trouble stretching his funds til the end of the month, and yet persists in organizing demonstrations, circulating petitions, and believing in “the collective”. André, David’s grandfather, is an artisan-mason whose skill allowed him to leave the factory, but who works outdoors, his hands in plaster, come rain or come shine. And Georges, his ancestor who lived through the events of 1936, lives in a retirement home. Among these rather archaic masculine figures, David grew to manhood. It is a world he is dying to flee. Two people inspire him as models, his Uncle Raymond, who is a successful businessman in Marseille, and Isabelle, an ambitious young woman who is preparing to go to university. David is capable of being drawn in either direction—Raymond’s path of easy money, where he might leave his soul and regret doing so, or Isabelle’s, with the underlying fear of being too much of a lightweight to succeed. And he senses deeply the bitterness of leaving this worn out world and the people he loves, casting both even more into the category of the historically outdated. A novel with much to say about our society and these times of change and modernization. AUTHOR: A building contractor, several of Yves Turbergue’s works have been published by smaller publishing houses. Le Crépuscule d’un monde is his first novel published by one of national renown. He lives in Audincourt, in the Doubs. Publication: August 22, 2013 – 448 pages

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The lucid and acid viewpoint of a heroine of our times as seen through the eyes of Clara B., whose eventful existence has been variously filled with rock ‘n’ roll, glossies, and political networking. Any resemblance to a known public figure is…simply a resemblance to a known public figure. In 2060, facing the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, the former top model and singer Clara B. decides to write her memoirs. Patrick Besson’s latest novel is a cross between Swift and the tabloid Voici, a work of pure fiction, of course, where any resemblance to persons living or dead is merely a coincidence! AUTHOR: Atypical iconoclastic writer Patrick Besson is the author of about forty novels. He was awarded the Grand prix de l’Académie française in 1985 and the Prix Renaudot in 1995. A member of the Prix Renaudot jury since 2000, he is also a literary critic possessed of a fearsome pen. Publication: October 3, 2013 – 200 pages

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A new adventure for the Venitian prince and antique dealer Aldo Morosini, whose life is turned upside down with the discovery of three exceptional rubies dating from the 15th century. On March 2nd, 1476, the Swiss compel Charles the Bold, the all-powerful Duc de Bourgogne, to abandon his camp at Grandson, leaving his fabulous wealth behind. Perhaps the most valuable jewel of this treasure is his pearl-embroidered parade hat, whose clasp at the crown is composed of exceptional gemstones arranged on a row of pearls: three rubies, known as “The Three Brothers”, and a huge triangular blue diamond called “The Great Diamond of Burgundy”. Destined to die at the gates of Nancy on January 5th, 1477, Charles the Bold will never again see this clasp, which he cherishes as a talisman. Five centuries later, these four stones will cause no end of problems for Aldo Morisini and his gang. It all begins with the visit of his notary, and a scene in the church of SaintAugustin, in Paris.

AUTHOR: The works of Juliette Benzoni have attracted a broad and loyal public (an average of 30,000 copies sold for each work published). Considered today as the queen of the French historical novel, amoong her books are Le Boiteux de Varsovie, La Florentine, Marie les intrigues, Marie des passions, La Perle de l’Empereur, Les Larmes de Marie-Antoinette, Le Jeu de l’Amour et la Mort, Secrets d’Etat, L’Anneau d’Atlantide, the Le Bal des poignards series, La Chimère d’or des Borgia, La Collection Kledermann and the La Guerre des duchesses series. Volume 2 will be published in the spring of 2014.

Publication: October 17, 2013 – 450 pages

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In this “Dictionnaire amoureux de Marcel Proust”, the two authors split the task, Raphaël Enthoven minutely and textually exploring À la recherche du temps perdu, and Jean-Paul Enthoven the variations on Proust himself. For each entry, the authors have also decided to refrain from going over once again the classic aspects of Proustism (several admirably complete dictionaries already exist which address the subject) but to point out the bizarre things, the “angles”, the heretofore uncommented “curiosa”. From “A as in Agony” to “Z as in Zinedine de Guermantes”, from “Datura” to “Rhinogoménol” and “Kabbale” to “Asparagus”, from “Plotin” to “Schopenhauer” or “Walter Benjamin”, they obviously enjoy discussing Proust, whom both have always revered, in terms of his biography as much as his literary genius, and each of their reflections adds to the fascinating substance of their text. Those who are Proustians at heart will be amply satisfied, as will intellectual Proustians. Several extracts of correspondence and of the actual works are reprinted in this mischievous and erudite dictionary for lovers, a work as scholarly as it is amusing. AUTHORS: Jean-Paul Enthoven is a writer, editor, and literary columnist at Le Point. Among his published works are two essays (Les Enfants de Saturne and La Dernière Femme) and three novels (Aurore, Ce que nous avons eu de meilleur and L’Hypothèse des sentiments). Raphaël Enthoven studied at the Ecole Normale Supérieure and holds an agrégation in philosophy. Professor, producer of the programme “Le Gai Savoir” on France-Culture radio, he is the author of L’Endroit du décor and Le Philosophe de service et autres texts (Gallimard) and Un jeu d’enfant, (Fayard). His most recent work is Matière première (Gallimard, 2013).

NOVEMBER 2013 : Centenary celebration of the publication of Du côté de chez Swann, the first volume of À la recherche du temps perdu. MAIN SELLING POINTS: - Many events will center around Proust in the coming year, drawing attention to this Dictionary. - Outstanding in several ways, the two authors are media personalities and can count on influential networks of support in the written and audiovisual press. Publication: August 29, 2013 ,

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Thanks to the subjective approach of Franck Ferrand, the “myth” of Versailles springs to life again. Of all the world’s palaces, Versailles is probably the one that has inspired the greatest number of conventional–and often inaccurate–works. With his personal and didactic approach, Franck Ferrand’s subjective interpretation gives the reader a fresh new look, a rediscovery of this splendid treasure of the past. The château, its décor, its vast gardens, the domain all appear here in an entirely new light, recapturing their innate exuberance and revealing the “court spirit” that was born here long ago. Franck Ferrand reviews the conventional bibliography of works on Versailles, compares the palace of today with that of yesterday, and explores the concepts of grandeur and symmetry. He examines the imperfections of its architecture, but also its forgotten feats, the hidden beauty and flaws of history. Through his intimate and practical familiarity with the legendary palace, the author resuscitates not only a fascinating and unique civilisation, much misunderstood when judged by today’s standards, but the «myth» of Versailles, which comes to life again through photography, song, theatre, cinema and television. AUTHOR: Ever since childhood, Franck Ferrand has been fascinated by this château and its gardens. After post-graduate studies on the court of Louis XV, he wrote several articles on the domain and a monograph on its modern destiny, Ils ont sauvé Versailles (Perrin, 2003), reprinted in paperback as Versailles après les rois (Tempus, 2011), and a biography of the curator in chief, Gérald Van der Kemp, Un gentilhomme à Versailles (Perrin, 2005). He has been a member of the Amis de Versailles since 1990 and an associate member of the Académie de Versailles since 2005. Publication: October 17, 2013

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This dictionary is the address book of the Devil’s ancestors and relatives: wicked gods, demons, spirits of the departed and of their emanations, vampires and werewolves. It presents as well the thinkers, the writers, the painters and musicians who evoke the Devil, and the philosophers and theologians who have studied him. After centuries and centuries of evil spirits and tormenting demons, Christianity invented the Devil, heir to the Serpent and the Satan of the Bible. We owe the Devil a debt of gratitude, for he assumes responsibility for the Evil, in life and in history, which is actually the work of the diabolical human race. Demons and the Devil have never ceased to haunt us. We may believe in them, we may not, but the clever demon even takes advantage of non-believers, proving, along with Dostoyevsky and Baudelaire, that he is all the more powerful when he does not exist. Between superstition, religion, and reality, he takes on every role—executioner, victim, fantasy, temptation, sin, pleasure and misfortune. He is evoked, described, pictured, and made to speak and sing. One may doubt his existence, but writers, poets, artists and musicians evoke his flesh and-blood presence. God is his accomplice, Hell his kingdom, and he appears in life, in History, and in culture. He is hunted and celebrated in witch hunts and the demonization of all one may fear. And there are even those who worship him. Today, we fight him, exorcise him, or adore him. From the most conservative of Catholics to the Satanists, true believers in his existence abound, and for those who doubt, human evil is there to remind us of him. From A to Z, here is the fascinating cultural world haunted by the Spirit of Evil. AUTHOR: Paul Robert’s main collaborator, Alain Rey has been writing and directing Editions Robert’s various dictionaries since 1964. Le Petit Robert, Le Grand Robert de la langue française (9 vol.), Le Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Le Dictionnaire culturel all bear his mark. He is also the author of a number of works devoted to language and words. Alain Rey has truly dedicated over a half a century to the service of words. Publication: October 17, 2013 ,

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The most densely populated country of the globe, China is on the cutting edge of what awaits us all and therefore more than ever, as André Malraux once said, “the second pole of human experience”. Complex, incongruous, ancient, in many ways baroque, China is as disconcerting a country as it is fascinating. For thousands of years, its amiable people have somehow managed to organize themselves so as to avoid the chaos that constantly threatens overpopulated societies. Today, China is a land of paradox, Chinese and capitalist, kind and brutal, generous and voracious—Yin and Yang, quite naturally. The very best stands beside the worst, as is the case everywhere, and yet more than everywhere else because everything in China is beyond the limits of the norm, like the number of its inhabitants. In this fascinating work, José Frèches seeks to make the reader love “his” China, this continent undergoing transformation, divided between the weight of its immense past and the promise of a future fueled by its economic power and the emergence of a middle class. Full of historical references as well as anecdotes of his own experience, Frèches’s narrative is above all amusing and sincere, dominated by the tender irony with which he has always approached China. From his introduction to the country on his first trip there, in 1972, until the present, China has undergone a more profound change than that which marked the five thousand years between the first Chinese state and the communists’ advent to power. AUTHOR: Born in 1950, trained as a sinologist and art historian, former curator of the Musée Guimet, José Frèches has written several historical novels set in China, including Le Disque de Jade, L’Impératrice de la Soie, L’Empire des larmes, and Les Dix Mille Désirs de l’empereur, all of which have sold over a million copies worldwide. Commissaire général de la France at the Shanghai World Expo of 2010, he designed and managed the French pavilion that, with an attendance of over ten million, was the most visited of all. José Frèches is one of France’s finest connoisseurs of China, both ancient and modern. Publication: November 7, 2013

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Produced in collaboration with the Château de Versailles, En cuisine avec Marie-Antoinette takes our taste buds on a journey back in time, to the idyllic setting of the Hameau de la Reine and the Petit Trianon, where the queen enjoyed living in rarefied (and immensely refined) simplicity. 40 recipes, sweet and salty. They remind us of a singular queen who sought desperately to escape the ponderous etiquette and the confining protocol of Versailles by creating her own little terrestrial paradise, the Hameau. It consisted of about ten little houses that contained her apartments, but also a kitchen, a dairy, a sheepfold, an ornamental pond filled with carp and broche, and ewes, lambs, and other farm animals. It was walking distance from the Petit Trianon, the other masterpiece decorated by MarieAntoinette, and the whole made up the “domaine du Hameau”, conceived in the Rousseauesque spirit that was much in vogue, combining purity and sobriety with communion with nature. Michèle Villemur has imagined dishes that would correspond to Marie-Antoinette’s culinary tastes: 11 savoury dishes, both rich and lean, 14 main dishes to please the palette, and fruits and sweets, with 15 irresistible desserts, including macaroons! The work is punctuated with historical anecdotes collected by Béatrix Saule, General Director of the Musée National des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, who has also written the book’s preface. A photo of each dish accompanies the recipe, with added photos of recent and original views of the Hameau and the Petit Trianon.

AUTHOR: Cultural journalist and gastronomical columnist Michèle Villemur lives in Paris. She has written several culinary books. A great lover of travel as well as cuisine, Michèle Villemur teaches at the Paris campus of Trinity College.

Publication: October 10, 2013 – 116 pages

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On the occasion of the centenary of her birth, THE biography of reference on Duras, by one of her most intimate friends. To what can one attribute the continuing fascination with the life and work of Marguerite Duras? Born in 1914 in colonial Indochina, she experienced the major upheavals of the century at their very heart, from the troubled period of the Occupation and her involvement with communism to the ultra-left movements post-1968. She has always represented the voice of rebellion and revolt, scandalizing many with the violence of her commitments and her passions. But Marguerite Duras’s life cannot be contemplated as detached from the very thing that kept her going, a work indefatigably begun anew, as though the weight of demanding destiny condemned her to the dangers of writing. In reconstructing this existence, the sole product of the work, Alain Vircondelet gives the reader the insight to comprehend the painful dimension and the absolute necessity to create of a great writer, as he examines the secret of her writing with the intensity it compels. AUTHOR: Writer and academic, Alain Vircondelet is best known for his biographical works, which have been translated the world over. Considered one of the finest biographers of his generation> (Paris-Match), he has written works on the lives of Saint-Exupéry, Albert Camus, Blaise Pascal, Rimbaud, Balthus, and many other figures of literature and spirituality, beginning with Marguerite Duras, the very first biography of whom he has completed today for Editions Plon. His recent publications include Albert Camus, fils d’Alger, Prix Méditerranée de l’essai (Fayard, 2010), Saint-Exupéry. Histoires d’une vie (Flammarion, 2012) and Des amours de légende (Plon, 2013). Publication: November 7, 2013 – 512 pages

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François II, Mary Stuart, Louis XIII and Louis XIV were all child monarchs. Eve de Castro offers the fascinating story of these extraordinary individual destinies which all began at the founding moments of both their reigns and their childhoods. One does not choose to be king, one is born to the task, whether initially or when the vicissitudes of succession force even the youngest of a family to mount the throne. At three days, five, nine, or fifteen years of age, fate delivers an extraordinary gift, one that is often poisonous. This work is not an exhaustive biographical study of the early years of the above monarchs; rather it casts light on a particular moment of the childhood of each, a moment when tragic circumstances forced the child to become the incarnation of the king (or queen), of a crystallization of his personality in which the seeds of the man his reign would reveal were sown. How would the long and craftily-planned assassination of his mother’s lover, Concino Concini, Maréchal de l’Ancre, affect Louis XIII, then just thirteen? At twelve, how did Louis XIV stand up, after an interminable night of feigned sleep, fully dressed and with his boots on beneath the counterpane, as the rioters stomped past his bed to make sure he had no intention of fleeing? In these times, we have come to treasure childhood as a carefree time of innocence, one devoid of responsibilities. When one is forced by destiny to be a monarch, can one ever really be a child? AUTHOR: Eve de Castro is a writer and screenwriter. Among her published works are Ayez pitié du cœur des hommes (Lattès), Prix des libraires 1992, Bâtard du Soleil (Orban, Pocket), Le Peseur d’âmes (Albin Michel) and, more recently, Le Roi des Ombres (Robert Laffont). Publication: September 26, 2013 – 250 pages

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So you think you know everything about the series? This work offers the ultimate explanation, decoding the actions of their most symbolic heroes. Now you can find out why you can’t live without Dexter, Lynette Scavo, or Dr House. And from now on, you’ll never again see the series in the same light! In the last fifteen years, television series have evolved from mere entertainment to a phenomenon of society. From simple figures of fiction, their characters and their convoluted psyches have become the latest bait of producers ever attempting to expand their viewing audience. What techniques of identification are used to create this feeling of empathy of the spectator towards his chosen hero? What do these characters awake in all of us? Why do we care for them, to the point that we have the impression of having lost dear friends when the series comes to a close? In answer to all these questions, Aurélie Blot takes an in-depth look at these hero-characters, those we identify with, those who both horrify and attract us, those we have always wanted to be without ever admitting it to ourselves. From the band of Friends with whom we’d all like to be buddies to the heroes of Grey’s Anatomy, in whom each finds his alter ego, from Bree van de Kamp, a Desperate Housewife in all her glory, to the saucy heroines of Sex and the City, not to mention Dexter, who inspires our hidden instincts to see justice done, or Dr House, who says out loud what everyone else merely thinks—all of them pass in review here. AUTHORS: Specialist on contemporary American civilization, Aurélie Blot teaches at the university level. Her research is essentially devoted to sitcoms and television series. Martin Winckler, author of the preface, is a doctor, the celebrated author of La Maladie de Sachs, and a specialist on television series as well. Publication: September 12, 2013 – 250 pages

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For the first time, Edgar Morin, 92, and his wife Sabah tell of the way they met, their improbable couple, and, most of all, of the love that transcends all differences. An exhilarating narrative! In 2009, Edgar Morin was 88 years old and had been widowed for a year. The improbable «hit him over the head» in the course of a music festival in Morocco. It was love at first sight, the awakening of emotions one feels only as an adolescent. A crazy and passionate love! Sabah Abouessalem is a sociologist. In 1979, at 20, she discovered Edgar Morin through his works and was enraptured with his ideas. In 2009, she felt the hand of the father of complex thought rest upon her own. “I’ll let you go when you give me your phone number.” Edgar and Sabah married just a few months later. “An improbable love”’, they both agree. A crazy love that they describe in this intimate and sometimes indiscreet book written by four hands. «I have the exhibitionism of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, she has the discretion of Madame de La Fayette», is Moran’s excuse. Beyond their story, beyond their exchanged e-mails, they share their reflections on a love that is capable of transcending all differences—age, religion, and culture. For, at the heart of it, what is love? AUTHORS: Edgar Morin, sociologist and philosopher, was born in Paris in 1921. He developed the concept of «complex thought» that is recognized today the world over. Several Latin American universities as well as a chair at UNESCO bear his name. Sabah Abouessalem, his wife, was born in Marrakech in 1959. She is a former lecturer at Paris-I, where she created and directed a Diplôme d’études supérieures spécialisées (DESS) on the problems of local planning in developing countries. She teaches in Morocco, where she continues her research on poverty and the problems of urban governance in the countries of the South. Publication: October 24, 2013

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A fascinating dialogue between a Cardinal and an atheist philosopher that treats the great questions of human existence, each basing his discourse on values he believes may enrich the reflections of the other. How does the message of Jesus remain a contemporary one in our modern secular society? Cardinal Ravasi and Luc Ferry share their interrogations and offer their views on belief and nonbelief, on the radical question marks that surround life and death, truth and mendacity, love and pain, good and evil. On the one hand the Cardinal, a man of faith, offers a magnificent overview of the great considerations of Christianity centered on the theme of “believe and understand” (believe first, in order then to be able to understand). To his way of thinking, true theology rests upon a watershed between two sources of oblivion one must avoid: on the one hand, an approach based only on history, the factual and rational and philosophic, and on the other, a willfully irrational mysticism, a mystic enthusiasm. His opposite, the philosopher, a “gentile”, wonders about the considerable importance of what remains of the Gospel for those who, like himself, have lost their faith. He studies the universality of love in Christ’s message, the role of the Devil and of Evil in the discourse of the Church, the indispensable complementarity between faith and reason, the essence of secularism, the personification of the divine, and the concepts of resurrection and death. What blooms in this surprising dialogue, the intersection of two points of view and reflection, is neither a superposition nor a mutual rejection. On the contrary, the visions of the philosopher and the Cardinal form a captivating diptych. AUTHORS: Philosopher, former Minister of National Education, Luc Ferry is the author of several best sellers, including Apprendre à vivre (Plon, 2006), La Sagesse des mythes (Plon, 2008), and La Révolution de l’amour (Plon, 2010). Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi is head of the Pontifical Council for Culture. On the initiative of Pope Benedict XVI, he developed the “court of gentiles”, days of exchange and dialogue between believers and non-believers.

Publication: September 12, 2013 – 350 pages & !

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A book of conversations between Caroline Pigozzi and Father Madelin, France’s best known Jesuit, former Provincial of the Jesuits. 200 pages to decode the mindset of and understand Pope Francis. Father Henri Madelin is a Jesuit and was the Provincial of the Jesuits for several years. In other words, for France, his post as head of the Jesuits was comparable to that of Pope Francis. He knows the Pope, both as a man and as a Jesuit. Journalist Caroline Pigozzi decided to ask him about the significance of the election of this new Pope. In the context of freely-chosen subjects and through his own very open vision of the Church, Father Madelin answers a variety of questions about Francis. What will be the place of women in the Church? What is his approach to the Muslim world and that of Judaism? What challenges will the Church be faced with in the future? And what of China? Father Madelin’s observations offer an introduction to Pope Francis and a means of deciphering the rhetorical complexity and the savoir-faire of the members of the Society of Jesus. This is a work that offers not only an insight into the thought processes of Pope Francis, but also, for the first time, a means of comprehending Jesuit thought. AUTHORS: Caroline Pigozzi is a special correspondent at Paris Match and an expert on religions on radio station Europe 1. She is the author of best sellers, including Le Pape en privé (Nil), Jacques et Bernadette en privé (Robert Laffont), Jean-Paul II intime (Robert Laffont), and Les Robes rouges (DDB-Plon). Her last book, Le Vatican indiscret (Plon, 2012), sold over 35,000 copies and has already been translated into several languages (Italian, Chinese, Polish). Father Henri Madelin is the former Provincial of Jesuits. Publication: November 28, 2013

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Didier van Cauwelaert offers a panorama of the most amazing phenomena, facts that seem at first glance logically impossible and yet have an explanation, backed up by scientific proof. A chick that attracts a robot solely using the power of thought. A host that levitates during a televised Mass. A tree that moves, entirely on its own power. A machine capable of conversing with insects. A military man who creates a detailed picture of a secretly-constructed enemy submarine that is ten thousand kilometres away. A member of the Resistance who escapes talking under Nazi torture by practicing bilocation. A priori, all these things seem impossible, and yet all of them, and others the author presents in this unusual dictionary, have been observed, described, and authenticated by trustworthy individuals, scientific researchers equipped with instruments to measure them. Didier van Cauwelaert pushes back the limits of the unimaginable from A to Z. From the psychic powers of the bee to the rational fabrication of zombies, from A as in Abandon (victory by) to Z as in Zola (the double miracle inflicted upon Emile), with discernment and curiosity, he joyously offers the reader the opportunity to vastly expand the realm of things possible. And his exploration of these amazing phenomena changes our perception of ourselves and all that surrounds us, encourages our re-enchantment with the world, while exploring its behind-the-scenes aspects where, just behind the curtain, crafty schemes, disinformation, mental manipulation, selective perception, conspiracies of silence, and deliberate bluffing reign supreme. AUTHOR: Didier van Cauwelaert’s popularity has grown with every successive literary prize he has earned. Prix Del Duca for his first novel in 1982, Prix Goncourt and Prix Nimier for Un aller simple in 1994, he is also the laureate of the Prix Science de la Vulgarisation Scientifique for his work L’Apparition in 2002. His latest novel is La Femme de nos vies (Albin Michel, 2013). Publication: October 17, 2013 – 400 pages

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The dialogue between a linguist and a physician. Are language and science at antipodes? Disjointed fragments of our culture? In competing spheres at school? No! Not at all, on the contrary, they are twin sisters, unfailingly complicit. This is the story of these twins, told by the intermingled pens of Alain Bentolila, linguist, and Yves Quéré, physicist. Science, a discourse on nature and the narrative of what we perceive of the world, was born and evolved hand in hand with language. From the creation of words to the architecture of the sentence, language played the role of refining its rigor and its logic, promoting an actually scientific way of thinking--as archaic as it may have been at the very beginning. And thus was born reason. The twin sisters have allowed Man to progress in the comprehension and mastery of the world around him. Their complicity is such that we cannot present one, to children in particular, without referring to—and revering--the other. And both of them, constituent parts of our culture, suggest the order of priority which becomes “Read, write, count…reason”. AUTHORS: Alain Bentolila is a professor of linguistics at the Université de Paris-Descartes who has devoted his career to the description of language in general and French in particular. A renowned specialist on the learning of oral and written language, he has created an international network to prevent illiteracy. He is, notably, the author of De l’illettrisme en général et de l’école en particuler (Plon, 1996, Grand prix de l’Académie française, 1997) and of Le Verbe contre la barbarie (Odile Jacob, 2007). Yves Quéré is a physicist, former Directeur de l’Enseignement of the Ecole polytechnique, and a member of the Académie des sciences. He was elected president of the IAP, which is the Assembly of Academies of Science worldwide. Among his works are La Science institutrice (Odile Jacob, 2002), Les Enfants et la Science, co-authored with Georges Charpak and Pierre Léna (Odile Jacob, 2005), and Doubles croches (Le Pommier, 2010). Publication : September 5, 2013 – 200 pages

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