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French publisher Bragelonne is bringing James Bond
back to the country with new translations and cover
designs...
UPDATE: The French edition of "Moonraker" has now
been released...
UPDATE: The French edition of "Diamonds Are Forver"
has been announced... |
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Bond Is Back In French
12th July 2008 / 23rd December 2008 / 11th
April 2010
French publisher Bragelonne is bringing James Bond back to the
country with all new translations and fresh cover artwork for
Ian Fleming's classic novels.
It has been almost fifty years since the first
French translation was made of Fleming's novels, and that attempt
was
far from perfect.
Performed by J. Hall in 1959, it was quickly superceded by a
second translation by Françoise Thirion in 1964 for paperbacks
published by Plon. The latter French texts, which condensed a
lot of Fleming's prose, stripped away some passages, and tweaked
elements of the adventures, have been used for all French editions
- until now.
Above: The new French
editions of "Casino Royale" and "Live And Let Die"
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The new publisher, Bragelonne, has hired Pierre
Pevel to provide updated translations for the 21st century. Born
in 1968, Pevel is
the author of seven of his own novels, and won the 'Grand Prix
de l'Imaginaire' in 2002 for "The Shadows of Wielstadt".
His translations have remained faithful to the original Fleming
text, respecting the historical context whilst updating the writing
style to suit a modern audience.
Bragelonne published "Casino
Royale" on 16th November
2006 to tie-in with the release of
the film, and as such used
the international poster artwork for the cover. A strap line
was added to explain the cross-over: "Ian Fleming - l'author
best-seller de James Bond 007".
The following year, the second novel "Live
And Let Die" was
translated (the French title became "Vivre et Laisser Mourir")
and published with a fresh design on 22nd November 2007. Parisian
artist Sarry Long, who had designed several fantasy and sci-fi
covers for Bragelonne, was given the mission to create a new
look for the book.
UPDATE: A translation of the
third novel, "Moonraker",
has been completed by Pevel and was released in France on October
28th 2008. The cover design comes again from illustrator Sarry
Long who continues his themes from "Live And Let Die". The paperback
runs for 318 pages and retails for €9,90.
Above: The new French
edition of "Moonraker"
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UPDATE: A translation of the
fourth novel, "Diamonds
Are Forever", has been completed by Pevel and will
be released in France on April 16th 2010 . The cover design
comes again from illustrator Sarry Long who continues his themes
from the series so far. The paperback retails for €9,90 and
carries the standard title translation "Les Diamants Sont Éternels".
Above: The new French
edition of "Diamonds Are Forever"
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