French publisher Bragelonne is bringing James Bond back to the country with new translations and cover designs... UPDATE: The French edition of "Moonraker" has now been released... UPDATE: The French edition of "Diamonds Are Forver" has been announced...

Bond Is Back In French
12th July 2008 / 23rd December 2008 / 11th April 2010

French publisher Bragelonne is bringing James Bond back to the country with all new translations and fresh cover artwork for Ian Fleming's classic novels.

It has been almost fifty years since the first French translation was made of Fleming's novels, and that attempt was far from perfect. Performed by J. Hall in 1959, it was quickly superceded by a second translation by Françoise Thirion in 1964 for paperbacks published by Plon. The latter French texts, which condensed a lot of Fleming's prose, stripped away some passages, and tweaked elements of the adventures, have been used for all French editions - until now.

Above: The new French editions of "Casino Royale" and "Live And Let Die"

The new publisher, Bragelonne, has hired Pierre Pevel to provide updated translations for the 21st century. Born in 1968, Pevel is the author of seven of his own novels, and won the 'Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire' in 2002 for "The Shadows of Wielstadt". His translations have remained faithful to the original Fleming text, respecting the historical context whilst updating the writing style to suit a modern audience.

Bragelonne published "Casino Royale" on 16th November 2006 to tie-in with the release of the film, and as such used the international poster artwork for the cover. A strap line was added to explain the cross-over: "Ian Fleming - l'author best-seller de James Bond 007".

The following year, the second novel "Live And Let Die" was translated (the French title became "Vivre et Laisser Mourir") and published with a fresh design on 22nd November 2007. Parisian artist Sarry Long, who had designed several fantasy and sci-fi covers for Bragelonne, was given the mission to create a new look for the book.

UPDATE: A translation of the third novel, "Moonraker", has been completed by Pevel and was released in France on October 28th 2008. The cover design comes again from illustrator Sarry Long who continues his themes from "Live And Let Die". The paperback runs for 318 pages and retails for €9,90.

Above: The new French edition of "Moonraker"

UPDATE: A translation of the fourth novel, "Diamonds Are Forever", has been completed by Pevel and will be released in France on April 16th 2010 . The cover design comes again from illustrator Sarry Long who continues his themes from the series so far. The paperback retails for €9,90 and carries the standard title translation "Les Diamants Sont Éternels".

Above: The new French edition of "Diamonds Are Forever"

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