Text translated by Linda, webmaster

Born during the Terror, Marianne-Élisabeth d'Asselnat de Villeneuve, whose parents died on the scaffold, owed her life only to the devotion of her godfather, the abbot Gauthier de Chazay, who, at the cost of a thousand perils, brought her to England to her aunt, Ellis Selton, sister of her mother only family left in England. Marianne's entire childhood was spent in the luxurious atmosphere of a large estate in 'Devon'. But that childhood came to an end the day Ellis Selton died. A few days later, Marianne, at her behest, marries the handsome Francis Cranmere with whom she is secretly in love. And it is on the night of this longed-for wedding, however, that Marianne's fate is sealed.

That night, Marianne loses her love, her fortune, her illusions and even her security.

She has to flee from everything she has loved so far, to flee anywhere to save her life, escape .... to 'France' where reigns, however, the 'Ogre of Corsica', the man whom, day after day, she has learned to hate, to despise : Napoleon.

By what strange path will 'Marianne d'Asselnat' reach the master of Europe? How will she become for Napoleon his soon to be indispensable star? This is the secret of a book which, throughout its pages, unfolds the splendour of the « Empire at its peak », the mysterious workings of politics and the strange ways of the 'Parisian' underworld. Faced with the love that her beauty arouses and with intrigues, Marianne will have to find her way among the most fearsome men of her time, Fouché, Talleyrand and above all the Emperor !



This was 'Éditons Trévise' second choice of Illustration for the first Marianne Novel in France - many more would follow, thanks to the great success of the story.  Please see at the bottom of this page also the foreign Editions, in this case also the English and American Artworks. Many Graphic Designers would later become acclaimed Artists, For example Alan LEE (for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies), Maestro Fulvio Bianconi (famous for his Murano Glass Works), Carol Binch (who confirmed to me her work) and many more...

They neglect popular writers...



Extract from a French article 1969 by J.P. Grey-Draillard
translated by Linda Compagnoni Walther, webmaster

LUNCH at the « Western », restaurant in the basement of the Hilton Hotel, between Juliette Benzoni, author of « Marianne, une étoile pour Napoléon » (1) and Mrs Robert André Vivien, wife of the Secretary of State for Equipment and Housing.

They tend to neglect « popular writers,» she tells me. 'That doesn't stop me from reaching copies of more than 100,000 in France (for the "Catherine" series in particular).'« In the United States », each of my books has sold over 600,000 copies. In addition, my books are translated so far into 16 other languages.'

Article in the English Newspaper 'Guardian Journal' on November 26, 1969, introducing the first of the 'Marianne Novels' published by 'Heinemann Ltd.' We observe with pleasure, the same year as the French's first edition 'Marianne, une étoile pour Napoléon' published by Éditions Trévise. Years later Publisher Pan books would divide the first volume into two books : 1. 'Marianne the Bride of Selton Hall', 2. 'Marianne : The Eagle and the Nightingale'.

The Romantic loves was in 1983 a new television Series in France, which consisted of 60 episodes and 26 minutes. It was broadcasted every day at 13.30 The first afternoon soap opera in France. It was the first of its kind and directed by the already acclaimed director 'Marion Sarraut'.

Marianne, a star for Napoleon  was the first of Juliette Benzoni's Book Series to be seen on television and directed by the ingenious Marion Sarraut. What we see here is Juliette Benzoni's personal invitation card on the day Marianne was introduced to the Media on 8 November 1983 !

Thanks to Gérard Chambre who played Jason Beaufort, Marianne's great love, we know what information the Press were given about this brand new Series. I like to add here for those who read the Marianne books, in the television Series there is a happy end between 'Marianne and Jason Beaufort'. (Further down are the documents Gérard kindly shared with me).

The guests of the Premiere were Juliette Benzoni, Marion Sarraut the Stars and the Press. How wonderful of Juliette to share this souvenir with us so we can get an idea how things were done back at that time. We can read on the invitation that after the presentation everyone was invited to stay for a Cocktail !

 

In her own words... Juliette Benzoni



Document translated from French by Linda Compagnoni Walther

This rare document would have been long forgotten, if I had not discovered it in a magic box at the home of 'Gérard Chambre'. He played Jason Beaufort in the TV-series Marianne, a star for Napoleon and kept many souvenirs from the time of the filming. (see his personal website www.gerardchambre-tribute.ch Gérard had been a great admirer of Juliette Benzoni and read many of her Bestsellers. He is the cousin of the late French author 'Myriam de Béarn'. I have had the  mutual permission by the late director 'Marion Sarraut' and 'Gérard Chambre' to share this document.



This is an extract from the TV-Series Marianne, une étoile par Napoléon. When I created my website back in 2008, I used to put together little video clips and adding the text in English - so that the non French-speaking fans of Juliette Benzoni could follow a tiny bit the dialogue on the small screen.. The quality may nowadays not be the best, but since the DVD's did not even have subtitles I suppose we can live with it...!