TABLE OF CONTENTS FICTION............................................................................................ 3 BEST-SELLERS 2012-2013..........................................................................3 HIGHLIGHT SPRING 2013 ........................................................................4 DISCOVERED WRITER...........................................................................11 LITERARY FICTION................................................................................12 NON-FRANCOPHONE AUTHORS .........................................................22 SHORT STORIES.......................................................................................23 DEBUT NOVEL..........................................................................................24 WOMEN WRITING...................................................................................28 CONTEMPORARY TRENDS ...................................................................34 HISTORICAL & BIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL ..........................................39 COMMERCIAL FICTION ........................................................................44 LITERARY CRIME & SUSPENSE NOVELS .........................................52 THRILLERS ...............................................................................................59 SCIENCE-FICTION & FANTASY ...........................................................65 FANTASY FOR YOUNG ADULT ............................................................68 ALL TITLES .................................................................................... 71 Contact: Mrs Anastasia Lester ; Email: [email protected] 1 FICTION FICTION BEST-SELLERS 2012-2013 de Castro, Eve: LE ROI DES OMBRES (Robert Laffont, October 2012, 320 pages) 25 000 copies sold in France It took thousands of behind-the-scenes-people to keep the monarchy running. This is their untold story. The underbelly of Versailles is exposed in this powerful story of love and betrayal. Louis XIV’s Versailles was built around spectacle: 20,000 people at all levels of the food chain were required to keep the monarchy functioning. This is the adventure of those whose story has not been told: those in the shadows who tended to the sprawling grounds, to every room, to the minutiae. Though they barely existed to those whom they served, this narrative shows they did not go unnoticed: like Nine la Vienne, the wigmaker who was too ambitious for her time, or Baptiste le Jongleur, the apprentice hanged for treason. The fates of these servants are inextricable from the fate of Louis XIV and his brother Philippe d’Orléans. A unique exploration of Versailles from another angle altogether. Eve de Castro has written numerous books and is also a screenwriter Rights sold: Germany (Bastei Lubbe Gmbh), Spain (Random House Mondadori), Italy (Rcs Libri) Poland (Albatros) “Eve de Castro, qui connaît son affaire , multiplie les coups de théâtre et trousse une intrigue de haut vol, sans jamais s' essouffler malgré la cavalcade.” Echos “Connaissant tous les secrets du Grand Siècle, de Histoire à la vie quotidienne sans oublier les alcôves, Eva Castro campe de magnifiques personnages dans un décor vivant.” Vers Femina “La plume de la romancière est alerte, sa langue élégante, son intrigue documentée, efficace et prenante.” Le Figaro Maalouf, Amin: LES DÉSORIENTÉS (Grasset, August 2012, 544 pages) 95.000 copies sold in France! Amin Maalouf’s long-awaited new novel marks his return to the land of his birth and to the themes he has long held dear – exile, identity, and the clash of cultures and beliefs. It builds a bridge between two distant shores, two very different worlds, that come together in his writing: East and West. Adam is a much-admired historian. He is living in exile in Paris, far from the homeland that he fled twenty-five years ago. He has fought long and hard to forget his childhood memories, but one night, one phone call, is all it takes to bring them rushing back. Mourad, his closest childhood friend, is dying. His final wish is to see Adam and heal the rift that has arisen between them since an argument decades before. Adam immediately throws a few clothes in a suitcase and takes the first flight out. A few hours later, he is back home after decades of absence. Adam takes lodgings with Sémiramis, drawn by her beauty, while he takes stock of the past. What has become of his childhood friends? One is a moderate Muslim, another an engineer turned monk; a third is a successful businessman, while a fourth has become a corrupt politician. They have all taken different paths in life, and some have blood on their hands. But who is Adam to judge? Were his choices any wiser? Was exile a luxury that allowed him to remain aloof from the difficulties his friends had no choice but to face? Adam learns that courage is not always to be found where he thinks it is. Life, love, and friendship, ideals and compromises, politics, desire, and betrayal – Adam can no longer avoid staring these issues in the face, having averted his gaze for quarter of a century. Amin Maalouf was born in 1949. His novels include LE ROCHER DE TANIOS (Goncourt 1993), LE PÉRIPLE DE BALDASSARE (2000), and ORIGINES (2004); he has also published works of non-fiction Contact: Mrs Anastasia Lester ; Email:[email protected] 3 HIGHLIGHT SPRING 2013 including LES IDENTITÉS MEURTRIÈRES (1998) and LE DÉRÈGLEMENT DU MONDE (2009). Major international literary voice, he was granted the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for Literature in 2010. Rights sold: Portuguese (Brazil: Bertrand), Greek (Patakis), Hungarian (Europa), German (Arche), Italian (Bompiani), Lebanese (Dar Al Farabi), Dutch (De Geus), Norwegian (Pax), Serbian (Laguna), Castilian and Catalan (Alianza), Turkish (Yapi Kredi). “Amin Maalouf, gives us a perfect look at the thoughts and feelings that can lead to emigration. One can only be impressed by the magnitude and the precision of his introspection.” Le Monde des Livres “His new book, Les Désorientés, marks his return to the novel with fanfare. It is a very endearing book.” Lire “A big, exquisite novel about friendship, betrayal, nostalgia, ideals, politics, and the world as it is…” Page des Libraires Villani, Cédric: THÉORÈME VIVANT (Grasset, August 2012, 288 pages) 63.000 copies sold in France The brilliant young mathematician Cédric Villani recounts the gradual dawning of the theorem that earned him the 2010 Fields Medal – the equivalent of a Nobel Prize for mathematics. Can Cédric Villani do for maths what Brian Cox has done for physics? THÉORÈME VIVANT is an enthralling account of one man’s determination to solve a mathematical riddle that had hitherto stymied all those who had tackled it. Cédric Villani spent years working on the problem until finally, one day, he cracked it. This fictional account of the process follows the brilliant young researcher as he travels the world in search of the answer, from Tokyo to New York and from Berkeley to Hyderabad. The account is interspersed with feverish emails to his fellow researchers, lines from songs hummed as he works, and the fantastical tales of adventure that he makes up for his young children, who accompany him wherever he goes. Gradually, light begins to shine on the revolutionary theorem that is to earn Cédric Villani his place in history. THÉORÈME VIVANT is by no means a beginner’s guide to mathematics. It is a breathless, thrilling tale of adventure, interspersed with fascinating portraits of some of the greatest minds in mathematics. Villani explains his dazzling equations with a child-like enthusiasm that proves highly infectious. Forget the dull arithmetic lessons you had at school – Cédric Villani is about to convince you of the magic, beauty, and poetry of maths. Cédric Villani was born in 1973. He is professor of mathematics at the University of Lyon. He was awarded the Fields Medal in 2010 – the equivalent of a Nobel Prize. “Cédric Villani is, like all mathematicians, a poet of necessities (…) The subject of this life, of this fate, of this book, is freshness – perpetual inventiveness.” Le Figaro Littéraire “The prestigious French mathematician has published Théorème vivant, the story of an adventurer in equations, the novel of a researcher…who makes very frequent discoveries. A fascinating book.” Le Nouvel Observateur Rights sold: German (Fischer Verlag), Italian (Rizzoli), Japanese (Hayakawa), Korean (Bookhouse), Dutch (Arbeiderspers), Romanian (Humanitas), Serbian (Center for the Promotion of Science), English: UK, Australia and NZ (Random House for The Bodley Head), USA (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). HIGHLIGHT SPRING 2013 Tong Cuong, Valérie: L’ATELIER DES MIRACLES (JC Lattès, January 2013, 250 pages) 35 000 copies sold in France ! Three desperate people, a mysterious man and his “miracle workshop”: is second chance possible? Mariette, a history teacher married to a narcissistic politician, is at the end of her rope. When a student provokes her one time too many, she snaps and crosses the line by shoving him down the stairs. Millie, a young secretary, is desperately lonely. When her building goes up in flames, she jumps out the window. Army deserter, 4 Contact: Mrs Anastasia Lester ; Email:[email protected] FICTION Mister Mike has made his home in the streets. He never suspected that the Troll and his gang would beat him to the brink of his life. At the instant Mariette, Millie and Mike’s lives are reaching a dead-end, help suddenly arrives. His name is Jean and he welcomes broken souls