''The Safety Matches'' (
French title: ''Les Allumettes suédoises''), also translated under the title ''The Match Boy'', is a
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
by
Robert Sabatier
Robert Sabatier (17 August 1923 – 28 June 2012) was a French poet and writer. He wrote numerous novels, essays and books of aphorisms and poems. He was elected to the Académie Goncourt in 1971, as well as to the Académie Mallarme. He ...
, published in 1969 by Albin Michel and translated into English by Patsy Southgate in 1972.
Catalogue entry of the British edition
National Library of Australia. Accessed 14 July 2013
It is the first volume of an autobiographical series whose main character is a boy named Olivier.
An immediate best-seller, the book was adapted for French TV by Jacques Ertaud
Jacques Ertaud (18 November 1924 – 18 November 1995) was a French film director and screenwriter. Along with Marcel Ichac, he co-directed the film '' Stars at Noon'', which entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival
The 9 ...
in 1995.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Safety Matches
1969 French novels
Novels set in Paris
French autobiographical novels
French novels adapted into television shows
Éditions Albin Michel books