Les Éditions de Minuit facts for kids

Les Éditions de Minuit (which means Midnight Press in French) is a famous publishing house in France. It was started in 1941, during World War II and the French Resistance. This company is still publishing books today.

History of a Secret Publisher

Les Éditions de Minuit was founded in 1941 by writer and illustrator Jean Bruller and writer Pierre de Lescure. They started it in Paris when Germany had taken control of northern France during World War II.

At that time, the German forces controlled all media and publishing. They censored what people could read. Les Éditions de Minuit was created to get around this censorship. It was a secret, underground publisher until Paris was freed on August 25, 1944.

First Secret Books

The very first book published was Le Silence de la mer (The Silence of the Sea) in 1942. It was written by co-founder Jean Bruller, who used the pen name Vercors. Like other secret Resistance writings, these books were passed from person to person. This was how they were shared without being caught.

More books followed in 1943. These included Chroniques interdites (banned newspaper columns) and L'Honneur des poètes (The Honour of Poets). This poetry collection was put together by Paul Éluard. Other important books were Le cahier noir (The Black Notebook) by François Mauriac and Le musée Grévin (The Grévin Museum) by Louis Aragon.

Brave Authors and Printers

A small group of printers joined Bruller and de Lescure. Together, they risked being arrested or even killed to publish works by France's greatest authors. These authors often used fake names to stay safe.

Some of these brave writers included Paul Éluard, Louis Aragon, François Mauriac, and André Gide. The company also published the first full French translation of John Steinbeck's book The Moon Is Down, called Nuits noires.

After the War

After the war, Les Éditions de Minuit could operate openly. They continued to publish books but faced money problems at first. Jérôme Lindon took over as director in 1947 and led the company until he passed away in 2001. His daughter, Irène Lindon, then took his place.

In the 1950s, the company became more successful. Lindon was the first to publish several novels by Samuel Beckett. Beckett wrote in both French and English and lived in France. Other important authors published included Alain Robbe-Grillet, Claude Simon, and Marguerite Duras. These writers were key to a new style of writing called the Nouveau roman (New Novel).

The publisher also released La Question by Henri Alleg in 1958. This book talked about the use of difficult methods by the French Army during the Algerian War (1954–62). The book was censored because of its sensitive topic.

New Voices and Awards

From the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, Lindon and Les Éditions de Minuit helped many young French authors become famous. These included Jean Echenoz, Jean-Philippe Toussaint, Jean Rouaud, and Marie NDiaye. Their writing style, sometimes called "Style Minuit," was fresh and unique. It mixed simple forms with a detailed writing approach.

From its beginning until 2015, authors published by Les Éditions de Minuit have won many major awards. These include two Nobel Prize in Literature awards (for Samuel Beckett and Claude Simon). They also won three Prix Goncourt, seven Prix Médicis, one Prix Renaudot, and three Prix Femina.

Modern Look of the Books

The covers of Les Éditions de Minuit books today are very simple. They look a lot like the wartime edition of Le Silence de la mer. The only decoration is a blue border and the company's symbol: a star and the letter "m".

Book Collections

Les Éditions de Minuit publishes books in different collections, or series, based on their topic. Some of these are:

• Arguments
• Critique
• Documents
• Philosophie
• Propositions
• Le Sens commun