Antoine Laurain (born 1972 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) is a French writer. His first novel, ''The Portrait illeurs si j'y suis' won the Drouot Prize in 2007, and was followed by ''Smoking Kills ume et tue' (2008) and ''Carrefour des Nostalgies'' (2009). In 2012 ''The President’s Hat e Chapeau de Mitterrand' would be one of the year's great successes. The novel won the Landerneau prize for emerging writers and the

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travel prize. Translated into 17 languages and published in English by Gallic Books, in 2013 it became one of the highest selling French books in translation. Antoine Laurain participated in a US tour for ''The President’s Hat'' at the invitation of American independent bookshops. The tour lasted 15 days, during which time he visited 10 cities. In 2015 '' The President’s Hat'' was adapted for television (France 2) with Frédéric Diefenthal, Michel Leeb, Frédérique Bell and

Roland Giraud Roland Giraud is a French actor. He married actress Maaike Jansen in 1966. Giraud began his theatrical training in the 1960s and joined Coluche's theatrical company in 1971. Around this time he worked also with the troupe, Le Splendid. His fir ...

(directed by Robin Davis, music by

Vladimir Cosma Vladimir Cosma (born 13 April 1940) is a Romanian composer, conductor and violinist. He was born into a family of musicians. His father, Teodor Cosma, was a pianist and conductor, his mother a writer-composer, his uncle, Edgar Cosma, composer and ...

). ''The Red Notebook a femme au carnet rouge' was published in 2014 and was translated into 22 languages, including under the German title of ''Liebe mit zwei Unbekannten'' (Hoffmann und Campe) and the Italian title of ''La donna dal taccuino rosso'' (Einaudi). The cinematic rights were sold to UGC. In 2016, the German translation of ''The Red Notebook'' made the

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bestseller list, and the German translation of ''The President’s Hat'' became the eighth-highest selling book in Germany that year. ''French Rhapsody hapsodie française' was published the same year by

Flammarion Flammarion may refer to: * Camille Flammarion (1842–1925), French astronomer and author * Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion (1877–1962), French astronomer, wife of Camille Flammarion * Flammarion engraving by unknown artist; appeared in a book by C ...

. Antoine Laurain returned to the US for the ''French Rhapsody'' tour, which consisted of six cities in nine days, and which confirmed the popularity of his books beyond the French borders. On the 11th of April 2020,

Camilla Parker Bowles Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the acc ...

, the Queen of England and wife of

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

, published a list of nine books she recommended for reading during the COVID-19 lockdown on the Clarence House Instagram account, the account previously used to provide updates on King Charles and Queen Camilla's activities. Only one French title appeared: ''The Red Notebook'' by Antoine Laurain. Laurain's most recent novel, ''Les caprices d'un astre'' (2022) has been published in English as ''An Astronomer in Love''.

Selected works

* ''La femme au carnet rouge'', translation: ''The Red Notebook'', by Jane Aitken and Emily Boyce * ''Le Chapeau de Mitterrand'', translation: ''The President's Hat'', by Louise Rogers Lalaurie,

Jane Aitken Jane Aitken (July 11, 1764 – August 29, 1832) was an early American printer, publisher, bookbinder, and bookseller. She was born in Scotland and her family immigrated to America with several Scottish families in 1771. She ran a print shop a ...

and Emily Boyce * ''Rhapsodie française'', translation: ''French Rhapsody'', by Jane Aitken and Emily Boyce * ''Ailleurs si j'y suis'', translation: ''The Portrait'', by Jane Aitken and Emily Boyce * ''Fume et tue'', translation: ''Smoking Kills'', by Louise Rogers Lalaurie * ''Millésime 1954'', translation: ''Vintage 1954'', by Jane Aitken and Emily Boyce * ''Le Service des manuscrits'', translation: ''The Reader’s Room'' by Jane Aitken, Emily Boyce and Polly Mackintosh * ''Et mon cœur se serra'', in collaboration with Le Sonneur, translation: ''Red is My Heart'' by Jane Aitken

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurain, Antoine French novelists 1972 births Living people