“Le Petit Mercure”, 30 years of literary reunion

Crazy blankets, a small format and, each time, the promise of a thematic dive. Since its creation in 1995 on the initiative ofIsabelle Gallimard, Le Petit Mercure, Benjamine Collection of Mercure de France, offers real “Small portable libraries”. Thirty years later, the collection continues to rehabilitate timeless works, rediscovered in the light of our time.

“Originally, it was not only a question of providing the mercury of France with a collection in pocket format, but also of bringing into light of the little known texts of great authors” “, Traces Isabelle Gallimard. This ambition first takes shape with a first series of tales for adults, generally overshadowed by the great classic of notorious feathers. Thus emerged stories as amazing as The truthful tale d’Eruster Ta Hoffmann, The black cat of François-Marie Luzel or that Hieroglyph tales d’Horace Walpole.

Rehabilitate hidden treasures

“This first test was very well received and therefore reinforced us in the idea of continuing the thematic series”, Comments Isabelle Gallimard. At stories succeeded an assortment of productions taken from the “18th century of women” – an idea of Chantal Thomas giving rise to the exhumation of correspondence or reflections signed Madame de Staël, Madame Roland or Madame de Tencin.

In the same spirit, Claude hop, specialist inAlexandre Dumashas instilled a series upgrading the news from the author of Comte de Monte-Cristowith titles such as The invitation to the waltz or The native country. “At each new series, the main theme as well as the choice of texts were proposed and brought by a different editor”, underlines Jean-Michel Tenthwhich co -edit the collection in pairs with Isabelle Gallimard.

Before ending, the 1990s was also an opportunity to honor Tolstoy et Tourgueniev At the heart of the “sentimental bestiary”, but also unsuspected humorists, like Félix Fénéon and Mark Twain. Françoise Dolto and his invitation to make adults and children dialogue, these beings “Who just smell”did not fail to make an impression just like the new reissue Irene’s con of Louis AragonErotic story many times censored for having turned the codes of decorum, and republished by the house in 2000.

« The idea was to have a whole library in your pocket ”

The arrival of the author and specialist in ethnographic objects Jean-Noël Mouret will nevertheless have marked a decisive turning point in the guideline of the Petit Mercure. “It was thanks to him that in 2002 we decided to expand the production of the collection. He landed a little by chance, by proposing an anthology of cities ”recalls Isabelle Gallimard.

It is also at this point that “the taste of …”, a sort of “Collection in the collection” appeared, devoting a vast diversity of literary anthologies to themes as wide as travel, destinations or culture. Roman, poetry, theater, song … Each volume is enriched with an anthology of literary extracts chosen with care, the whole forming a real collection setting.

“The idea was to have a whole library in your pocket and that you could take it with you, or travel through it”, describes Jean-Michel Decimo. Inaugurated with The taste of Venice, Barcelona and Lisbon, The collection first focused on “Large European capitals which we knew that the tourist potential was going to find its equivalent in terms of volumes and commercial potential”brought Jean-Michelkknow.

An essential collection

Unductionable illustration of this success, The taste of Venice arrives, Even today, at the top of sales, counting some 40,000 copies sold since its publication. But to these first titles devoted to destinations followed innovations to enlarged tropes, like the Taste of walking, the taste for travel or encore The taste of Jewish humor, become today emblematic. Carried by these sustainable, and very identified successes of the booksellers which salute its accessibility – the works of the collection do not exceed the modest price of ten euros – the small Mercury represents, today, almost 10% of the total turnover of the Mercure de France editions.

“These are pulse purchases. Readers generally buy one or two when they go on a trip, two or three when they give it ”reports Jean-Michel Decimo. Over the years, the Le Petit Mercure collection has not been content to extend the historical identity of the Mercury of France. She also managed to explore the margins of literary heritage, being renewed according to the social and cultural changes of her time with titles such as The taste for feminism or The taste for homosexuality. A way of making yesterday’s texts dialogue and today’s questions, to lasting the heart of its audience.