Description
Book SynopsisIn this first biography of Jacques Schiffrin, the founder of Pléiade Editions in Paris and cofounder of Pantheon Books in New York, Amos Reichman tells the story of a great publisher and his travails across two continents.
Trade ReviewA fitting tribute to a man who did so much for literature—and who could have done even more, had he been allowed. * Foreword Reviews *
In
Jacques Schiffrin: A Publisher in Exile, from Pléiade to Pantheon, Amos Reichman provides a fine account of the events in the turbulent life of a gifted man who sought only to practice his trade in peace and tranquility -- William Cloonan, Florida State University * H-France Review *
Despite fleeing first Tsarist Russia and then Nazi-occupied France, Jacques Schiffrin succeeded in being a major literary influence on two continents, establishing first the best edition of French classics and then a key publishing house in New York which would flourish still more under his son. It is splendid that we now at last have a lively and informative biography of this remarkable man. -- Adam Hochschild, author of
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial AfricaJacques Schiffrin, exiled from his native Russia after the Revolution, created a great career as an innovative publisher in Paris but had to start all over again as a refugee in New York in the 1940s, aged almost 50. Bravo to Amos Reichman for writing the first biography of this attractive yet tragic figure, whose life embodies the shocks and displacements caused by the catastrophic history of the twentieth century. -- Susan Rubin Suleiman, author of
The Némirovsky Question: The Life, Death, and Legacy of a Jewish Writer in Twentieth-Century FranceExile is often a state of alienation. Sometimes it can be an adventure, a successful negotiation between old and new worlds. Amos Reichman skillfully recounts one such miracle, providing—through the melancholic, inspired figure of Jacques Schiffrin—a transatlantic microhistory of publishing and literary production from the 1930s through the 1950s that is precise and informed, rich and, at times, funny. -- Emmanuelle Loyer, Sciences-Po Paris
Amos Reichman’s
Jacques Schiffrin is a sensitively written and deeply researched version of an important story. Reichman’s account beautifully captures the pathos of exile. -- Evan Brier, University of Minnesota Duluth
Reichman's archival work brings a fresh perspective on a major yet little-known publisher and offers a sophisticated overview of the literary and cultural landscape in France before and during the Second World War. -- Lise Jaillant, Loughborough University
Beautiful book written with love and dedication, pretty warm, for everyone. Highly recommended. * Al Femminile Blog *
Reichman provides a fine account of the events in the turbulent life of a gifted man. * H-France Review *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Foreword, by Robert O. Paxton
Introduction
1. From War to Exile
2. A Publisher in New York
3. The Impossible Return
Epilogue
Notes
Archives Consulted
Index
