Éditions Grasset () is a French publishing house founded in 1907 by (1881–1955). Grasset publishes French and foreign literature, essays, novels and children's books, among others. Bernard Grasset sold ownership of the company to Hachette in 1954. In 1967, Éditions Grasset merged with . Today it operates as a subsidiary of Hachette, which has been owned by

Lagardère Group Lagardère S.A. () is an international group with operations in over 40 countries. Based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, the group was founded and created in 1992 by Jean-Luc Lagardère under the name Matra, Hachette & Lagardère. Headed ...

since 1981.

History

Under its Founder

Bernard Grasset was born in 1881 in Montpellier. He received a degree in economics before moving to Paris, where he ran in literary circles and started his own publishing business. The company published a number of successful books in its early years, including Alphonse de Châteaubriant's ''Monsieur des Lourdines'' and André Savignon's ''Les Filles de la pluie'', both of which won the

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but resul ...

. In 1913, Grasset published the first volume of '' À la recherche du temps perdu'', by

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'' and more r ...

, '' Du côté de chez Swann''. Proust paid for the publication of his book after it was rejected by other publishers. Bernard Gasset agreed to publish only if Proust covered the entire cost, and told a friend, "It's unreadable." The company published a number of notable authors, including André Maurois,

François Mauriac François Charles Mauriac (; ; 11 October 1885 – 1 September 1970) was a French novelist, dramatist, critic, poet, and journalist, a member of the'' Académie française'' (from 1933), and laureate of the 1952 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Pr ...

, Henry de Montherlant,

Paul Morand Paul Morand (13 March 1888 – 24 July 1976) was a French author whose short stories and novellas were lauded for their style, wit and descriptive power. His most productive literary period was the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s. He was m ...

(called the 4 Ms) and later on:

Raymond Radiguet Raymond Radiguet (; 18 June 1903 – 12 December 1923) was a French novelist and poet whose two novels were noted for their explicit themes, and unique style and tone. Early life Radiguet was born in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Saint-Maur, Val-de-M ...

Blaise Cendrars Frédéric-Louis Sauser (1 September 1887 – 21 January 1961), better known as Blaise Cendrars (), was a Swiss-born novelist and poet who became a naturalized French citizen in 1916. He was a writer of considerable influence in the European ...

André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( ; ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (''Man's Fate'') (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed ...

, Pierre Drieu la Rochelle,

Fernand de Brinon Fernand de Brinon, Marquis de Brinon (; 26 August 1885 – 15 April 1947) was a French lawyer and journalist who was one of the architects of French collaboration with the Nazism, Nazis during World War II. He claimed to have had five private tal ...

Jacques Doriot Jacques Doriot (; 26 September 1898 – 22 February 1945) was a French politician, initially communist, later fascist, before and during World War II. In 1936, after his exclusion from the French Communist Party, he founded the French Popular Pa ...

, Abel Bonnard, Jacques Chardonne, and Georges Blond. The publication of Radiguet's '' Le Diable au corps'' was significant not only for its literary merit or the youth of its author, for the amount of publicity Grasset invested in, including posters, photos of the young Radiguet, interviews, and films. This changed the landscape of the publishing industry in France, as firms spent more on marketing their authors to a reading public that became more interested in reading and more unpredictable in their taste. In 1921, Grasset hired Daniel Halévy to edit a new line of books, '' (The Green Notebooks)''. The first entry in the series was Louis Hémon's '' Maria Chapdelaine''. The series consisted of creative essays and fiction, like Malraux's ''Tentacion de l'Occident'', and lasted through the early 1960s. Grasset publications were frequent literary prize-winners in France. Alphonse de Châteaubriant won the

Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française The is a French literary award, created in 1914, and given each year by the Académie Française. Along with the Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the ...

in 1923 with '' La Brière''. Maurice Genevoix's '' Raboliot'' won the Prix Goncourt in 1925. Other prize-winners include Mauriac's ', André Demaison's ', Jacques Chardonne's ''Claire'', Joseph Peyre's '' Sang et Lumières'', Jean de La Varende's ', Édouard Peisson's ',

Jean Blanzat Jean Blanzat (; 6 January 1906, Domps, Haute-Vienne – 6 November 1977, age 71) was a French novelist and a member of the French Resistance. Biography After a literary debut noticed in the magazine ''Europe'' in 1929 in which he published his ...

's ''L'Orage du matin'', and Paul Mousset's ''Neige sur un amour nippon''. In 1948 Bernard Grasset was convicted of collaboration with the Nazis in World War II, fined 10,000 francs and sentenced to "national condemnation for life." Bernard Grasset was not the only person in his circle accused of collaborating, as Henry de Montherlant was also condemned for sympathizing with Nazis. Montherlant's book ''Le solstice de Juin'' was published by Grasset in 1941, and it hailed the German victory over France in 1940. In 1954 the company was sold to Hachette. The next year Bernard Grasset's nephew, Bernard Privat, was named the new head of Éditions Grasset. Bernard Grasset died in October of 1955.

Under Privat and Fasquelle

Bernard Privat formed a partnership with Jean-Claude Fasquelle and eventually merged Grasset with Éditions Fasquelle. Yves Berger served as literary director for the company from 1960 to 2000. In 1966, Edmonde Charles-Roux won the first Prix Goncourt for Grasset in the post-WWII era with '' To Forget Palermo''. Jacques Chessex's ''L'Ogre'' and

Antonine Maillet Antonine Maillet (10 May 1929 – 17 February 2025) was an Acadian novelist, playwright and scholar. Early life and education Maillet was born on 10 May 1929 in Bouctouche, New Brunswick"Antonine Maillet." ''Paroles d'Acadie : Anthologie de ...

's ''Pélagie-la-Charrette'' also won the prize, in 1973 and 1979, respectively. In 1981, Grasset's parent company, Hachette, was taken over by Lagardère Group. Bernard Privat left the company, and Fasquelle took over as Grasset CEO. Fasquelle oversaw the creation of a new series, ''Les Cahiers Rouges'' (The Red Notebooks), modern classics in a "semi-pocket" format with recognizable red covers. From 1981 to 2005, Lucien Bodard, Dominique Fernandez,

Amin Maalouf Amin Maalouf (; ; born 25 February 1949) is a Lebanese people in France, Lebanese-born French"A ...

, Patrick Rambaud, Pascal Quignard, François Weyergans, published by Grasset, won the

. Jean-Marie Rouart,

Raphaële Billetdoux Raphaële Billetdoux (born 28 February 1951 in Paris) is a French novelist. Biography She is the daughter of François Billetdoux, and was a companion of the political journalist Paul Guilbert (died July 2002). She was an assistant editor on fea ...

, François Weyergans, Pascal Bruckner, Dominique Bona, Daniel Picouly,

Frédéric Beigbeder Frédéric Beigbeder (; born 21 September 1965) is a French writer, literary critic and television presenter. He won the Prix Interallié in 2003 for his novel '' Windows on the World'' and the Prix Renaudot in 2009 for his book '' A French Nov ...

Virginie Despentes Virginie Despentes (; born 13 June 1969) is a French writer, novelist, and filmmaker. She is known for her work exploring gender, sexuality, and people who live in poverty or other marginalised conditions. Work Despentes' work is an inventory o ...

, Yann Moix, Olivier Guez, won the

Prix Renaudot The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or () is a French literary award. History The prize was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt. While not officially related to the Prix Goncour ...

, from 1984 to 2017.

2000 and after

Olivier Nora, former CEO of the Hachette-owned publisher

Calmann-Lévy Calmann-Lévy is a French publishing house founded in 1836 by Michel Lévy as Michel Lévy frères. His brother Kalmus Calmann Lévy joined in 1844. After Michel's death in 1875, the firm was renamed ''Calmann Lévy''.Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian writer and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th centur ...

, Colm Toibin,

Hanya Yanagihara Hanya Yanagihara (born 1974) is an American novelist, editor, and travel writer. She grew up in Hawaii. She is best known for her bestselling novel ''A Little Life'', which was shortlisted for the 2015 Booker Prize, and for being the editor-in-c ...

, and many others. In 2020, Grasset made news by publishing Vanessa Springora's ''Le Consentement (Consent)''. The book is a memoir describing Springora's grooming and sexual abuse as a young teenager at the hands of author Gabriel Matzneff, who was 49 at the time. Matzneff often wrote about pedophilia and sex tourism in his own work, and made no apologies for his predilections after ''Consent'' was published. French authorities did bring charges against Matzneff, and for a time he evaded them by remaining out of the country. Two other women came forward with allegations of abuse in 2022, but as of 2023 it seems unlikely that Matzneff will stand trial.

Notable published novels

* ' by François Nourissier, Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française) * '' Du côté de chez Swann'' by

, published at author's expense * ' by Edmonde Charles-Roux, Prix Goncourt

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grasset Gallimard French brands French companies established in 1907 Publishing companies established in 1907