> "Duhamel didn't "define" it; he applied it, leaving
it to us to
discern
> the common elements that all the books he published
under the SERIE
NOIR
> logo had, and so to identify the DEFINING
elements.
>
> Are those the common elements of his book line? I
must admit that I
> don't know. Even if I buy an inductive definition of
the term (and
I'm
> not sure I do), I'd need to see a list of the books
published under
> Serie Noir. Anyone got one?
>
> Mark
>
I don't have a list of the books but I did transcribe, from
the Gallimard website, a list of authors that they've
published under the Serie Noire banner. Many hundreds of
them. I didn't bother with titles because most of them I was
unable to work out what the English title was, where
appropriate. (Many of the books are by French authors, many
of whom sport Anglo noms-de-plume (sp.?). However, Gallimard
publish the whole list on their website. I can't give you the
exact link but if you go to Gallimard's WebPages at: http://www.gallimard.fr/
In the top right-hand of the homepage there is a list of
(French, natch) phrases. Point to "CATALOGUES" and a menu
appears. Click on
"Collection". The next page has a couple of drop menus. Click
on the top one and scroll down the options till you reach
"SERIE NOIRE" then click on "RECHERCHER" (search) (or just
hit "enter") which is in red just under the second drop menu.
Next you will have the beginning of the Serie Noire catalogue
of 2353 titles (!), starting with Edward S. Aarons. You can
also rearrange the entries by book title, series no. etc.if
you prefer. I have one time list member Etienne to thank for
this info. I would never have found this in a million years
on my own.
The first ten volumes published are three novels by James
Hadley Chase, four by Peter Cheyney, one each by Raymond
Chandler, Horace McCoy and Don Tracy. The most recent volumes
listed (from 2001) include works by James Crumley, Jon A.
Jackson, Christopher Brookmyre and several presumably French
or European authors that I personally haven't heard of. Other
authors published over the years: Hammett, W. R. Burnett,
James Cain, Robert Finnegan, Jonathan Latimer, Kenneth Millar
(Ross Macdonald), Paul Cain, Samuel Taylor, Stanley Ellin,
Raoul Whitfield, Harold Masur, Richard Sale, Richard
Ellington, James Gunn, David Dodge, Jim Thompson, John Spain
(aka ?), Bruno Fischer, P. J. Wolfson, H. Vernor Dixon, Frank
Kane, Richard Wormser, Thomas B. Dewey & John D.
MacDonald. That's just in the first 100 volumes. Lawrence
Block, Harry Crews, Joe Lansdale, Philip Jose Farmer, Don
Winslow, Robert Skinner, A A Attanasio, Nicholas Blincoe,
Peter Blauner, Ed McBain, Carlos Sampayo, Donald Goines,
Elmore Leonard are authors published in more recent times.
The Serie Noire list is, these days at least, overwhelmingly
filled with authors I've never heard of, most of them
presumably French. And let's not forget that Gallimard/Serie
Noire commissioned Chester Himes to create his brilliant
Coffin Ed / Gravedigger Jones series. I know the list
includes unusual choices such as Donovan's Brain and other
ring-ins from other genres. Gallimard's vision of 'noir"
fiction is very broad indeed, from Carter Brown to Harry
Crews and anything in between or within grabbing distance.
hey seem to have published the great majority of authors that
we've discussed here. I'd love to have the opportunity to
investigate much of the original material that Serie Noire
publish but that doesn't seem very likely unless I learn how
to read French (and read it well).
Rene
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