Anguish - Exploration of a collection - Volume 1 & 2
of Philippe Gontier, Laurent Mantese
Release date : December 12, 2021
Publisher : Artus Films
Language : French
Number of pages : 360 pages / 310 pages
In 1954, Editions Fleuve Noir launched a collection soberly baptized "Angoisse", whose works favored "action, atmosphere, suspense and mystery", with the stated ambition of providing the reader with "four hours of emotion as only the cinema had managed to create”. During its twenty years of existence, which saw the appearance of Hammer and Italian horror cinema, it published two hundred and sixty-one novels relating to fantasy, science fiction or thriller, sometimes mixed.
With the exception of four titles translated from American and German, the “Angoisse” collection only published French-language authors, thus constituting a veritable school of francophone fantasy. Around thirty writers from very diverse backgrounds took part in this unique editorial adventure. Some, coming from general literature and recognized by critics, such as José-André Lacour or René Bonnefoy, distinguished themselves there under the mask of pseudonyms. Jean-Claude Carrière, a young normalien, resuscitated the creature of Frankenstein there before embracing the cinematographic career that we know. Old-timers of popular literature like Maurice Limat or Paul Berato pursued a prolific career there. But the collection also revealed new talents who left their mark on it. This is particularly the case of André Ruellan, alias Kurt Steiner, or the unclassifiable Marc Agapit, whose name remains definitively attached to that of “Angoisse”. Later, it welcomed Peter Randa, André Caroff, Georges J. Arnaud, Jean-Pierre Andrevon or Pierre Pelot. The real identity of certain authors remains unknown to this day, which adds to the mystery of a collection which for twenty years was an incredible literary laboratory of terror.
Visually, the volumes of the collection, stamped with the famous skull logo, were distinguished by the catchy and intriguing covers by Michel Gourdon, which made a lasting impression.
For all these reasons, "Angoisse" has acquired a mythical dimension among fans of fantasy and horror literature, and its titles are still sought after by collectors.
This book is intended as a tribute to this collection and to those who contributed to it: publisher, collection director, authors and illustrator. The first two volumes offer a preface by Jean-Claude Carrière, a historical and sociological presentation and a summary and critical analysis of the 261 novels. The third volume will focus on authors, recurring heroes, theatrical, cinematographic or comic book adaptations, as well as Michel Gourdon.
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After "Gore, dissection of a collection" in 2014, and "La Brigandine, the underside of a collection" in 2017, Artus Films continues to explore the collections of our popular literature. The principle is the same: tell the story of the collection, introduce the collection director(s), summarize and analyze each volume published, profile the authors and illustrators, then offer tasty appendices, such as handwritten letters, photographs, sketches of blankets etc... This time, we are looking at the mythical Fleuve Noir collection: Angoisse. But to treat the 261 novels of this prolific collection, it will take no less than 3 volumes. Philippe Gontier and Laurent Mantese devoted 5 years of their life to this project, 5 years during which they did everything to share their passion for popular literature in general, and for the Angoisse collection in particular. And the result is almost there, giving us a furious desire to immerse ourselves in the delicious thrills and dreads that reading this amazing literature provides. Jean-Claude Carrière, author, in his debut, of 6 novels in the collection, did us the honor of preface this project.