Linda Compagnoni Walther, webmaster, 31 October 2009

On my first visit to Juliette Benzoni 2009 I finally learned the reason why the « seventh book » La Dame de Montsalvy of the Catherine series, had never been translated into English.
 
Her French publisher had very good business relationships with the English publisher Heinemann Ltd.  and did everything in his power that Juliette Benzoni's Catherine would continuously be translated. Years later, after the publication of Catherine and a Time for Love which had ended with an epilogue, Juliette was again asked to sit down and let the Readers know more about the life of Catherine and Arnaud. Happily she agreed to do this and started to write.

In 1973 Piège pour Catherine (A Trap for Catherine) was published but times had changed...
The company Éditions Trévise who had published the Catherine books since 1963 had closed their doors. This is also the explanation for the gap of six years until the seventh book La Dame de Montsalvy came into the book shops in France as late as 1979 !

I can only assume that under the new management, the foreign translations seemed to be less important than the home editions! Unfortunately, one of the forgotten Countries was England... and million of English readers across America, the UK, Canada and Australia were cheated out of the joy to know if Catherine and Arnaud would see each other again - or if the hero died at Châteauvillain see → A Trap for Catherine.

I have received many letters since launching the Catherine de Montsalvy website in 2008 ! Fans of the books were aghast to learn that there was a seventh book, having believed that our hero Arnaud had died at Châteauvillain at the hands of that villain Le Damoiseau - leaving our heroine a widow with two little children!

For many years I had written to publishers all over the world, begging them to publish La Dame de Montsalvy into English. They did not even have the decency to answer my letters !


But something unforeseen happened in 2014 when Telos Publishing contacted me ! The rest is now history, not only will all books be re-issued - this time the « forgotten book » as I used to call it, will finally be made available in English for the faithful readers of 'Juliette Benzoni'.  My dearest friend Juliette who left us on February 7, 2016 had been overjoyed and happily signed the contract with Telos Publishing Ltd.

Who said that happy-endings do not exist anymore nowadays ? One more word to Telos Publishing, they are adding all the left out parts from the earlier editions by Heinemann Ltd. BELLE CATHERINE  believe it or not « had over 12 pages missing » situations which describe the character of 'Arnaud de Montsalvy', who presents himself in a new light in this third book, see also → Info Page so we wait and see what will happen and to be sure this Website will talk about the publishing when it is official !

UPDATE... 2021 'The Lady of Montsalvy' has been published on 1 June 2021 the first time ever in English - the book can be ordered at Telos Publishing Ltd or Amazon.

The last of the 7 Catherine adventures 'The Lady of Montsalvy' was first published in France 1979 by Editions de Trévise called: 'La Dame de Montsalvy' - see my 'International Cover page' for all the different French covers →  here

The seventh book is the only Catherine Novel which has at the end the date when the author finished it: '3 September 1978 Saint-Mandé'.

The first six 'Catherine Novels' have been re-issued in England starting in 2015! The seventh so far never translated book The Lady of Montsalvy was published on « 1 June 2021 »,  and finally translated into English... after more than 43 years - hurray for the English Readers...! It is translated by Linda Compagnoni Walther (webmaster) and Stephen James Walker (Telos Publishing Ltd) .   

The English version has 365 pages and 14 chapters. Cover art by Martin Baines and Graphic design by David J Howe (Telos Publishing Ltd)       
 


The Lady of Montsalvy adventure, last in the Catherine series, is dedicated to Juliette Benzoni's « English Readers » and 'Linda Compagnoni Walther', webmaster of this website, which had been the wish of the late Juliette Benzoni in 2014.



Souvenir photo with the author Juliette Benzoni on 31 October 2009 during my first visit to Saint-Mandé.





Juliette Benzoni in 'London' August 1964 at the Cocktail Party in her honour, to introduce One Love is Enough. We see on the photo above BBC Radio Reporter 'Leigh Crutchley' interviewing the 'Countess Juliette Benzoni di Conza', as she was introduced to the Press. On the photo below the man who asked her at the end of the Fifties, if she was capable to write a 'Historic Romance' story in the style of Angélique - Press Agent Gérald Gauthier. 



some International → Press articles concerning the Catherine Series -

Do not miss my Bonus page about all seven Catherine books with lots of extra information→ here



Catherine was so far translated into 26 languages and published in at least 31 countries - see special pages

Film Adaption in 1968 Catherine, Il suffit d'un amour

Music by Michel Magne - who already composed the film music for the Angélique films.



Director 'Bernard Borderie', the same man who had already directed the Angélique films (after the books by Anne Golon). Juliette was extremely disappointed by the end product, because they had turned her story into a Political unrest, inspired by the '1968 Paris riots'! The original story was no longer recognisable! I can only agree with her. I have decided to create an extra page with photos and it is under construction The movie had after all some international Stars which deserve to be mentioned - like Olga Georges-Picot, Claude Brasseur, Horst Frank and Francine Bergé. 

Marion Saraut's TV-Series Catherine premiered on March 19, 1986

Co-Production Antenne 2 - SFP

Director Marion Sarraut

Adaption by Juliette Benzoni & Jean Chatenet

Music by Robert Viger



Story of Catherine  - as seen from the view of the 1986 TV-Series Catherine, il suffit d'un amour



Portrait of Director Marion Sarraut → here