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November 30, 2022
Le Feu Follet's Letter #15
"Our chimeras are what resemble us the most."
On April 3, 1862, Victor Hugo succeeded, from his English rock, in the feat of publishing simultaneously and in the four corners of the world the most important humanist novel of the century. However, even today, booksellers and bibliographers doubt the success of this tour de force and continue to quarrel over the precedence of one publication over another. False testimonies (from Adèle), erroneous information (from gazettes), abusive interpretations (from bibliographers), failing memory (from Hugo) and disorderly precipitation (from Meurice and Vacquerie) against a background of exacerbated rivalry (between Lacroix and Pagnerre), the he Feu Follet investigation takes you through the twists and turns of an exceptional editorial adventure, the source of one of the most tenacious bibliographical misunderstandings, wrongly attributing precedence to the Belgian edition over the French and ignoring the real difference between the Lacroix and la Pagnerre: the text supplement.Let's listen again to the voice of the master Hugo and his love for the animals that he mirrored to each character in Les Misérables: Valjean-Madeleine's good bear, Fantine the mouse, Cosette the lark and above all Javert, "this dog son of 'a female wolf "…Edition-originale.com offers you this week its literary bestiary.
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Le Feu Follet's Letter
Whimsical essays, curious histories, epic enquiries, curated selections, highlighted novelties — all seasoned with a dash of humour. A bimonthly journey across the arts and letters, from the present to the past.
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September 4, 2026
Once upon a first time…
Gutenberg's Bible was preceded by several ephemera printed with movable type which the legendary B42 always claimed to be the first to use. No matter. The true origin may in fact be Buddhist, since in 1377 the Jikji was already being printed with a similar method.
Can one consider fries to be Belgian? What does pasta owe to the Arab world? Isn't the croissant a descendant of the Austrian kipferl? The very idea of champagne may have been born in the mind of an Englishman, Christopher Merret!
"First" is decidedly fiction, but to open this new season, Le Feu Follet is pleased to offer you the very first look at its brand-new selection: "Once Upon a First Time…"
July 21, 2026
Summer Reads: Coming and Going - Not all wors wear the same skin.
Joyful Julyers and august Augustans, globe-trotters or shoreline saunterers – however you travel, so long as you carry your books.
Ride the waves of our vast, eloquent pages – peopled with valiant Miserables, excellent Rougons, and castaway Fridays…
July 3, 2026
“There were printed of this first edition…”
Every collector of modern books knows this terrible and delightful phrase. An ominous prelude announcing just how arduous the quest for the most desirable copy will be.
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