Promise at Dawn

The translation is credited to a certain John Markham Beach: this is a pseudonym created by Romain Gary, which he used twice in 1961: for The Talent Scout, in March, and for Promise at Dawn, in October. It should be noted that the American edition of La Promesse de l’aube contains an additional chapter, XXII, absent from the French edition. This chapter was only added, at Gary’s request, in the definitive French edition of 1980.

This 1963 edition — the first paperback edition — was the fourth of Gary’s titles published in this popular format, evidence of the good health of his readership in the United States. It is prominently featured here, since, in addition to his portrait, the cover presents the book as an “unconventional, autobiographical narrative of a famous soldier, diplomat and author (…), author of The Roots of Heaven.”