Mangeurs d’étoiles

The third Romain Gary title published in this collection.

Titles in the “Collection Soleil” were bound in full cloth of various colors (pink, yellow, orange, blue, green…), in a design by Massin. The series reprinted backlist titles, but also included works that had just appeared. It was created in 1957 to compete with the Club du meilleur livre (a joint subsidiary of Gallimard and Hachette): Claude Gallimard was opposed to the idea of Hachette benefiting from the exploitation of his backlist in the form of bound books sold in bookshops. The print run was limited to a few thousand copies, with the following advertising line at launch: “Le soleil, dit Fontenelle, est l’orgueil des planètes. Les livres de la collection ‘Soleil’, tous au format in-8° soleil, seront l’orgueil de votre bibliothèque.” Thirteen titles by Romain Gary had the honor of appearing in the series: Lady L., La Promesse de l’aube, Les Mangeurs d’étoiles, La Danse de Gengis Cohn, La Tête coupable, Adieu Gary Cooper, Chien blanc, Europa, Les Enchanteurs, Au-delà de cette limite…, Clair de femme, Charge d’âme and Les Clowns lyriques.

He is surpassed only by Simone de Beauvoir (14 titles), Jean Giono (16) and Henry de Montherlant (22!).