Hachette, coll. Bibliothèque verte n°208, 249 pages.

Françoise was very influenced by the venerable Hugo, and, in particular, his vision of the Vendée wars. This is why, while siding with the Republic, it paints a picture that is not Manichean. She also moves certain protagonists of her story from one camp to another, whose figurehead is a young woman who fights and plots, finding herself wherever the destiny of France is at stake. (Vincent)

Hachette, coll. Bibliothèque verte n°185, 187 pages.

Alongside Don Quixote and Cyrano de Bergerac, the honoured bandit Mandrin Belle-Humeur has his place in Françoise’s pantheon. She also dedicated a book to him in 1957. Our French Robin Hood shares the limelight here with an 11-year-old girl who displays an audacity, courage and commitment “not expected of people of her sex”, to paraphrase an 18th-century phrase.

This novel from the Bibliothèque Verte, much better written than the rest of the collection as far as I remember, is very much in line with Françoise’s other children’s books: colorful and meticulous descriptions, realistic historical context, adventures and twists in all chapters. A book quite suited to instilling a taste for literature. (Vincent)

Bruxelles, Éditions Brepols (Bruxelles), 138 pages.

This children’s book would have had its place in the Bibliothèque Verte. The story takes place in the Ile de France, which will become Mauritius. We find there the famous corsair, a young gabier, a young philosopher, etc., and a certain Mr. Piston, incarnation of one of Françoise’s ancestors.

Attached to her Breton and maritime roots, the author would have loved this song by Michel Tonnerre in this very beautiful interpretation by Thalie (who knows Françoise and appreciates her). Thank you to this one for allowing me to insert it here, and to Michel’s heirs. (Vincent)

Paris, Éditions Gautier-Languereau, coll. Nouvelle bibliothèque de Suzette, 123 pages.

This little novel for young people is the fruit of a collaboration with two literary and scientific celebrities of the time: the writer Jean-Charles (La Foire aux cancres, 12 million copies sold) and the scientist Jacques Bergier, an SF author in his spare time.

The result is an honest adventure book, educational in its scientific postulates, where, unusually for Françoise, female characters are almost non-existent, apart from the presence of a 10-year-old girl.

The USSR found the book meritorious enough (a triumph of disinterested people working for the good of humanity and scientific materialism) for the State Educational Publishing House to translate it into 61.

Hachette, coll. Bibliothèque verte n°46, 253 pages.

This first novel intended for young people is adorned with a cover whose reading could be much less innocent today than at the time. And it is the story of two adventurous and shipwrecked women that is told to us. We can even venture to think that Françoise would have done well without the character of the Chevalier de La Barre, who seems to be there to save appearances and preserve the moral purity of our dear darlings… But wouldn’t this be an anachronism or speculation on possible intentions still unconscious in the author? (Vincent)