Publishing, the Rules of the Trade

Elena Ceausescu. Carnets secrets

Patrick Rambaud et Francis Szpiner, Flammarion (Bibliothèque de la Securitate), original edition, 1990, Coll. Bfm - Limoges

The origin of this case is a book which was a hoax: one that the authors made as realistic as possible. Patrick Rambaud and the lawyer Francis Szpiner, using established facts, rumours and their imagination, invented a book claiming to be the secret notebooks of Elena Ceausescu (1990). In agreement with Raphaël Sorin, editor working for Flammarion, they used the cover of the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade to present their text, modifying it to become Bibliothèque de la Securitate in reference to the secret service of the Rumanian State. The letters ‘NRF’ on the Gallimard series became ‘BDF’, printed in the same familiar font. At the Tribunal de grande instance in Paris, Gallimard accused their fellow publishers of parodying their cover. Perhaps annoyed at not having been informed in advance, they did not want the prestige of the Pléiade to be harmed by this use. Flammarion was condemned and they pulped the 5500 remaining copies of the first edition. They reprinted the Carnets secrets with a new cover.