Black series

The Black series , founded in 1945, is a collection of detective novels and Romance blacks published by Gallimard.

It was founded in September 1945 by Marcel Duhamel. As of 1948, it is characterized by a particular esthetics (small pocket hard-bound black and yellow with a black jacket with white edging) which will make much for the notoriety of the collection. The name of the collection was invented by Jacques Prévert.

But its great force is the revelation (for the French public) of very many authors and a new form of police literature, plunged in the reality of the street, côtoyant shadies, gangsters and killers.

The Anglo-American literature cuts the lions share in the collection. Marcel Duhamel undertakes itself the translation of many works (Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett). All the great authors of the American black novel are gradually published (Horace McCoy, William Burnett, ED McBain, Chester Himes, Robert Bloch, Richard Matheson, Lou Cameron or Jim Thompson). In same time Duhamel will publish French authors, first is Serge Arcouët (published under the pseudonym of Terry Stewart in 1948) then Albert Simonin with Touchez not with the grisbi! , and to allow the kind to take its final take-off in France. The writers of the néo- whodunnit (for example, Jean-Patrick Cuff and Jean-Pierre Bastid) will make a vehicle for the social and political comment of it.

The constants of the Black series are the Argot, the Humor, and the Violence. Bitten detective novel call it “the Queen of the Night”.

During Années 1980 the collection started to undergo the competition of new collections like Rivages/Noir , during the Années 2000 the erosion of the sales led Antoine Gallimard to engage a deep change of the collection: the collection sister Black the disappears while the black series passes from a format semi-pocket (19 X 12,5 cm.) to the large size.

Since October 2005, the collection is directed by Aurélien Masson. It publishes the books in large size, keeping the spirit of the last version of the semi pockets (monochrome photo, penmanship in yellow) but made disappear famous classification. Pullings are less important and their higher price.

Amateurs of small Bibliophilie seek for their collection volumes former to 1950 in first edition of the Black series whose author is famous.

Other authors: Nadine Monfils…

The proclamation of the " Series noire"

In 1948, Marcel Duhamel written what will remain a long time “the proclamation of the " Series noire". After more than fifty years, this text remains of a rare topicality.

“That the reader not warned is wary: volumes of the " Series noire" cannot without danger being put between all the hands. The amateur of enigmas in Sherlock Holmes will not find often his account there. The systematic optimist either. Allowed immorality in general in this kind of works to only be used as driving bolt with conventional morality, is there at it very as much as the beautiful feelings, even of the amorality very short. The spirit is seldom conformist. One sees police officers more corrupted there than the criminals than they continue. The detective sympathetic nerve always does not solve the mystery. Sometimes there is no mystery. And sometimes even, not of detective of the whole. But then? … Then there remains action, anguish, violence - in all its forms and particularly more honnies - tabassage and massacre. As in good films, the states of hearts result in gestures, and the fond of delicacies readers of introspective literature will have to deliver themselves to the opposite gymnastics. There is also love - preferably bestial - disordered passion, hatred without mercy. In short, our goal is extremely simple: you to prevent from sleeping. ”

Directors of the collection

External bond

  • Collection

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