Location: France
Member Since:
Aug. 23, 2014
Edouard
Publisher info
Édouard Brasey is a French novelist, essayist, scriptwriter and story-teller born on March 25, 1954. Author of more than seventy works, many of which have been translated into English, Russian, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, he specialises in the themes of the esoteric, fables, legends and fantasy. He won a prize Imaginales in 2006 for La Petite Encyclopédie du Merveilleux, and a prize Merlin in 2009 for his novel La Malédiction de l'Anneau. Subsequently, he has become essentially a novelist, notably published by Calmann-Lévy. His historical-esoteric thriller that was published in 2013, Le Dernier Pape, anticipated the abdication of Benoît XVI.
Biography
Édouard Brasey was born on March 25, 1954 in Marseille. He has been interested in the imaginary since his childhood. He has an entry in Who's Who in France .
Qualifications and Career in Journalism
Graduating from the ESSEC Business School (École Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales), the leading business school outside North America which obtained the prestigious accreditation AACSB (Association of Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business), he gained a Master in Private Law at Lyon II-Lumière, a Diploma of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques of Lyon, and a Master in Cinema Studies and Scriptwriting (Paris I-La Sorbonne), with the directors Éric Rohmer et Jean Rouch as professors. He also trained in the theatre, in story-telling and in commedia dell'arte . He has been a journalist for Lire, l'Expansion, Challenges, Livres Hebdo, Le Monde de la Musique, Le Figaro Madame and L'Usine Nouvelle . He writes regularly for the review Historia, edits reviews of historical crime novels, and collaborates in special features concerning witchcraft, the devil, medieval legends, superstitions, pirates or fairy-tales. He collaborates in publications of Historia dedicated to the works of the illustrator Hergé, Tintin et les Forces Obscures and Tintin et la Mer.
Career as a Writer
Édouard Brasey is the author of nearly seventy works since 1987, comprising investigative documents, essays, chronicles, fictionalised biographies, novels, monographs, collections of fables and illustrated art books. His works address the themes of the invisible world and spirituality, religions and pagan (notably Celtic) beliefs, fables and legends, and the fantastic.
Investigative Essays
His first investigative essay, published in 1987 by Ramsay, was dedicated to the literary journalist Bernard Pivot. Favourably received, it was qualified by Philippe Schuwer in Communication et Langages as « a study that approaches hagiography without having the faults ». Édouard Brasey thereupon interested himself in the esoteric with l’Enquête sur l'Existence des Anges Rebelles in 1995 and the Enquête sur l'Existence des Fées et des Esprits de la Nature in 1996 published by Filipacchi and J’ai Lu.
Literature of the Imaginary
In 1995, the writer specialised in the domain of legends, notably following an apprenticeship with the story-teller Henri Gougaud. Between 2005 and 2012 he wrote a collection of fables, Le Cabinet Fantastique, as well as collections of fantasy, French fiction, esoteric writings, essays and illustrated books at Éditions Le Pré aux Clercs. He authored numerous publications in this domain that made him an incontestable reference in the field.
Novels
He has also published twelve novels since 1994, in the fields of thriller, crime novel, historical novel or story inspired by legend.
Principal Works
Le Dernier Pape (Éditions Télémaque 2013, Amazon Kindle e-book 2012 and 2014)
See detailed article: Le Dernier Pape.
The pope is dead. While the pretenders to his succession intrigue in the corridors of the Vatican, gruesomely bloody ritual murders profane places of worship, an atrocious homage to the martyrdom of Saint Peter. Two thousand years ago, the apostle cast on Rome, the place of his torture, a curse that seems ready to accomplish its purpose: a cosmic menace is about to eliminate the seat of Christianity. But the fiercest enemies of the Church are perhaps elsewhere…
This esoteric thriller, highly documented, inspired notably by the prophecy of Malachie, and the prophecy of the third secret of Fátima , provides the keys to decrypt the obscurities and the scandals that have plagued the Holy See since the origins of the papacy until today: financial scandals, secret societies, the mysterious death of John-Paul I, intrigues in the Swiss Guards, financing of programs of astronomical observation of the cosmos…
Édouard Brasey published Le Dernier Pape in March 2012 in electronic format at Amazon under the title La Prophétie de Pierre, generating 3000 downloads in three months. He subsequently published it with Éditions Télémaque in January 2013, anticipating by a few weeks the abdication of Pope Benoit XVI, which occasioned numerous articles and interviews in the national and international press.
In 2014 Édouard Brasey published an update to his novel in electronic format under the definitive title Le Dernier Pape et la Prophétie de Pierre, to integrate the latest developments concerning the Vatican, notably the election of Pope François. The book is regularly classified among the best-sellers in electronic format on the platforms Amazon.com and Amazon.fr. An English translation is in preparation.
Reviews
« In France, Edouard Brasey, a science-fiction writer known for penning thrillers, published "The Last Pope", which is eerily similar to the real-life events unfolding in the Vatican. The book’s protagonist is a pope who finds himself in the middle of numerous scandals, yet even a sci-fi guru like Brasey couldn’t stretch his imagination to the point where he envisioned the pontiff resigning from his post.
Brasey, a former journalist, was the most sought-after pundit in France this week. Everyone wondered how he managed to sniff out such a significant scoop and present his readers with the story of a troubled pope, so similar to real life.
“The pope in my book doesn’t resign, but he suffers a great deal,” he said. “He gives a speech at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican in which he vows to enact real reform throughout the church. I wrote this book in 2011 amidst all of the scandals that were being discussed at the time, and which were vividly manifest this past summer with the Vatileaks affair." Israel Hayom, February 15, 2013 .
« Édouard Brasey entices us into an adventure totally captivating, fascinating in its occult accents and gives birth to an esoteric thriller of high quality ». Corine Pirozzi, The Huffington Post .
« Édouard Brasey has just published a book that presents strange coincidences with actual events at the Vatican. Ex-journalist converted to writing fantastic novels, Édouard Brasey has not given up getting scoops. He was even ahead of reality when he published, at the beginning of January, Le Dernier Pape. A book that prophesied the upheavals that the Vatican has just experienced, the revelations of Vatileaks up to the disruptions provoked by the abdication of Benoît XVI. The thread? The machinations of a cardinal in order to take the place of the current Pope. » Laurène Daycard, « Le pape au cœur d’un thriller », Le Figaro, February 11, 2012 .
« The Vatican will always light up the imagination of novelists. Witness Edouard Brasey who has published Le Dernier Pape. A thriller which mixes the illness of a Pope, the intrigues for his succession, senseless murders and a cosmic menace. A novel researched and fascinating. » Philippe Vallet, France Info, February 3, 2013 .
« Those who like the idea of a « conglomerate of all-powerful groups that rule the world in the shadows », who thrill with excitement at each revelation made about the Vatican, who twitch at the evocation of secrets that deliberately obscure the Church, will find a great pleasure of reading in this esoteric thriller. Because the prolix Brasey, whom we know equally from works as excellent as they are serious concerning a science that is belittled (« Encyclopédie du Merveilleux »), here shows all his generosity. » Julie Malaure, « Quand le pape se meurt », Le Point, January 31, 2013 .
Franck Ferrand of Europe 1 sees this novel as « written exactly in the line of Anges et Démons by Dan Brown » . He salutes the action scenes and the numerous references, the « Renaissance décor of Saint Peter and the Vatican » alternating with « ultra-modernity », adding only the overall impression and inspiration « conspirator », but only « that which is proper to all these big novels. We are squarely in a conspiracy theory » .
Les Lavandières de Brocéliande (Editions Calmann-Lévy, 2012, Le Livre de Poche, 2014)
All-Saints Day, 1943. Gwenn, a young orphan, discovers one of her fellows, a washerwoman, drowned in the washing basin of Concoret, a small village on the edge of the forest of Brocéliande. Dahud, the oldest inhabitant, and mother of the victim, incriminates the washerwomen of the night, these supernatural creatures that, according to Breton legends, wash the bloody clothes of their still-born infants. The malediction continues to haunt the washerwomen of Brocéliande...
With this novel, Edouard Brasey inaugurates a new genre, that of historic and legendary novels of the earth, inspired by popular beliefs, in which the action takes place in Britanny. This novel has been favourably received by Le Courrier Indépendant . Followed by, at the same publisher, Les Pardons de Locronan and La Sirène d'Ouessant, published in 2013 and 2014.
His next novel, due to appear with Calmann-Lévy in 2015, is a crime novel in which the action takes place in Haute Provence at the beginning of the 1960s, L’Affaire de la Cabre d’Or.
La Malédiction de l’Anneau (Éditions Belfond, 2008 et 2010)
Magic rings and invincible swords, Valkyries and dragons, giants and dwarfs, gods and heroes animated with ardent passions affront one another in the intrigues, plots, machinations and wars of which the objective is the conquest of the cursed ring… This novelistic trilogy regroups Les Chants de la Walkyrie, Le Sommeil du Dragon and Le Trésor du Rhin. It is a saga of fantasy, full of adventure and fury, of poetry and enchantment, inspired by the same legendary sources as The Ring of the Nibelung by Richard Wagner and The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.
On June 20, 2009, Édouard Brasey received the Prix Merlin in the novels category for Les Chants de la Walkyrie, the first volume of the cycle. He received a bursary for creation from the Centre National du Livre for his writing . A short film presenting this novel was produced by Jérémy Grammatica in 2010.
Reviews
« Édouard Brasey makes the ancient Nordic sagas sing, the legend of the powerful Ases and the magnificent Vanes. A remarkable work that holds together a fantastic narrative and lyric poetry. » Valeurs Actuelles
« Eminent French specialist in the universe of fairies, folklore, myths and legends, Édouard Brasey offers us, with La Malédiction de l'Anneau, the fruit of a colossal work of compilation carried out from diverse sources, such as l'Edda, La Saga des Völsung or l'Anneau du Nibelung. Then, under the effect of the limpid, poetic and elegant pen of the author, the narrative, very well tied together, is passionate from start to finish – thanks to the strong characters, a sustained rhythm and a decidedly adult tone – and Édouard Brasey accomplishes with excellence the marriage of the elements taken from his sources and from the fruits of his creativity. The resulting work is never verbose, nor archaic, and is presented as we could imagine a modern re-reading of La Chanson des Nibelungen. A work comparable to that done by Jean Markale for his Cycle du Graal. » Nicolas L., SciFi-Universe, November 24, 2008 .
« A titanic work where we sense the love of Édouard Brasey for all that touches from near or from far the imaginary and the fantastic, to take on such a monster might seem a little reckless but the author knew how to respond to the challenge with brio and brings us a new insight into a myth that has not finished making us dream. » Plume-libre.com
« The experience of the novelist Édouard Brasey always makes itself felt, this encyclopaedist offers us a rich and fascinating account, in delivering us his fable in the manner of a spoken story as he had the habit of doing previously, so that each of us lives the adventure as if he was there. Recommended to fans of the epic, of palpitating adventures and of mythology or to all assiduous readers who want to read an excellent novel. » Khimaira.
« In the soberly styled pages, at the same time epic and sombre, as if written under the bewitching dictation of the hero of an ancient Viking adventure, the novelist manages to give new life to ancient Nordic sagas following the footsteps of the German composer Richard Wagner (L’Anneau du Nibelung) and the British writer John R.R. Tolkien (Le Seigneur des Anneaux). » Boojum-mag.net
L’Encyclopédie du Merveilleux (Editions Le Pré aux Clercs, 2005, 2006, 2007 et 2012)
From history, legends, Celtic, Greek-Roman, Germanic or Nordic mythology, literary or cinematographic creations, Édouard Brasey has collected all man’s knowledge of the tribes of fairies, elves, imps, mermaids or dwarfs, terrifying beasts such as dragons, unicorns, griffons, gargoyles, but also the creatures of the night, werewolves, vampires trolls, Cyclopes, giants, ogres, titans… In total more than 250 creatures, spirits or animals are brought to life here, with their description, their geographic and mythological origin, their habits and their history. Illustrated by hundreds of ancient engravings, paintings of masters and original works, the Encyclopédie du Merveilleux brings together all the sources of mythology, folklore and history to evoke the most fascinating creatures of imaginary worlds.
This work is made up of three volumes: Des peuples de la Lumière, Du Bestiaire Fantastique and Des Peuples de l'Ombre (2005 and 2006), re-edited into a single volume entitled La Petite Encyclopédie du Merveilleux in 2007 and La Grande Encyclopédie du Merveilleux in 2012. It earned him a double recognition at Imaginales d'Épinal in 2006: the Imaginales Special Jury Prize, and the Claude Seignolle Prize for the images. The first volume has been translated into English by Five Mile Press, under the title The Encyclopedia of Fantasy – People of Light. These works, accessible to all, have improved the knowledge of the marvellous in France.
Reviews
« "Re-enchant the world": this slogan, borrowed from the preface of this encyclopaedia, entitled "Once upon a time it was marvellous", could well define better than a long discussion the task engaged here and which must be followed to its conclusion in several volumes. » Jacques Baudou, Le Monde, October 21, 2005.
« Édouard Brasey is a major specialist of the genre. » Le Figaro
Démons et Merveilles (Éditions Le Chêne 2002, 2006 and 2010), Faeries and Demons (Barnes & Noble, New-York, 2003), Dragons, Little People, Witches, Fairies, Trolls and Elves (Hachette UK Illustrated, London, 2003)
The stories and legends of the enchanted kingdom exert an influence on our lives today - most notably in the spooky ghostliness of All Hallows Eve, which has long been celebrated throughout the Fairy Kingdom. Each of the four seasons has particular celebrations and this book aims to bring some of the background to these rituals and traditions. The illustrations throughout are by some of the world's best illustrators, including Arthur Rackham, Gustave Dore and Walter Crane. Quotations and references also feature from Shakespeare, Walter Scott and J. R. R. Tolkien.
After the success of the French edition, this work has been translated into English for Barnes & Noble (New-York) and Hachette UK Illustrated (London).
Scriptwriter for audio-visual and live arts (television, radio, screen adaptation, theatre)
Édouard Brasey is also a scriptwriter for televised documentaries, theatre and story-telling dramas and musical comedies. He has notably participated in several documentaries on historical or esoteric subjects:
. Le Sorcier Habite l’Immeuble, documentary with J.-C. Deniau, 52 minutes, France 2, October 30 ,1989.
. Les Années Algériennes, historical documentary series de Benjamin Stora, 4 x 52 minutes, France 2, October 1991.
. Des Anges, des Démons et des Hommes, documentary with J.-C. Deniau, 70 minutes, France 3, August 1995.
. Il était une Fée, documentary with Bernard Jourdain, 52 minutes, France 2, May 9, 1999.
He has written a musical comedy for children, A la Recherche d’Alandys, for Les Monts Rieurs in 2002, and co-authored with his wife, Stéphanie Brasey, a second musical comedy, L’Enfant Tombé de la Lune for Les Monts Rieurs, 2012 , .
Also with his wife, Stéphanie Brasey, he has co-authored La Porte des Secrets, a screen adaptation for Paimpont inspired by the legends of the forest of Brocéliande , .
Actor
As an actor, Édouard Brasey has made several appearances in films and television films, notably:
Les nuits de la Pleine Lune, Éric Rohmer, 1984.
Dionysos, Jean Rouch, 1984.
Nathalie, Anne Fontaine, 2003.
Joe Pollox et les Mauvais Esprits, Jérôme Foulon, 2004.
La Main du Diable, Jérémy Grammatica, 2010.
Jean Moulin, Yves Boisset, 2002.
Avocats et Associés, Affaires de Famille, Marion Jourdan – Le Sens du Devoir, Mauvais Esprit, Ciné-Cinémas special Fables and Legends, Ciné-Cinémas special Vampires.
Storyteller
As a story-teller, he has created several fables:
. La Mémoire de Merlin
. La Forêt Enchantée.
. Chercheurs de Vérité.
. Les Sept Portes des Mille et Une Nuits.
Biography
Édouard Brasey was born on March 25, 1954 in Marseille. He has been interested in the imaginary since his childhood. He has an entry in Who's Who in France .
Qualifications and Career in Journalism
Graduating from the ESSEC Business School (École Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales), the leading business school outside North America which obtained the prestigious accreditation AACSB (Association of Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business), he gained a Master in Private Law at Lyon II-Lumière, a Diploma of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques of Lyon, and a Master in Cinema Studies and Scriptwriting (Paris I-La Sorbonne), with the directors Éric Rohmer et Jean Rouch as professors. He also trained in the theatre, in story-telling and in commedia dell'arte . He has been a journalist for Lire, l'Expansion, Challenges, Livres Hebdo, Le Monde de la Musique, Le Figaro Madame and L'Usine Nouvelle . He writes regularly for the review Historia, edits reviews of historical crime novels, and collaborates in special features concerning witchcraft, the devil, medieval legends, superstitions, pirates or fairy-tales. He collaborates in publications of Historia dedicated to the works of the illustrator Hergé, Tintin et les Forces Obscures and Tintin et la Mer.
Career as a Writer
Édouard Brasey is the author of nearly seventy works since 1987, comprising investigative documents, essays, chronicles, fictionalised biographies, novels, monographs, collections of fables and illustrated art books. His works address the themes of the invisible world and spirituality, religions and pagan (notably Celtic) beliefs, fables and legends, and the fantastic.
Investigative Essays
His first investigative essay, published in 1987 by Ramsay, was dedicated to the literary journalist Bernard Pivot. Favourably received, it was qualified by Philippe Schuwer in Communication et Langages as « a study that approaches hagiography without having the faults ». Édouard Brasey thereupon interested himself in the esoteric with l’Enquête sur l'Existence des Anges Rebelles in 1995 and the Enquête sur l'Existence des Fées et des Esprits de la Nature in 1996 published by Filipacchi and J’ai Lu.
Literature of the Imaginary
In 1995, the writer specialised in the domain of legends, notably following an apprenticeship with the story-teller Henri Gougaud. Between 2005 and 2012 he wrote a collection of fables, Le Cabinet Fantastique, as well as collections of fantasy, French fiction, esoteric writings, essays and illustrated books at Éditions Le Pré aux Clercs. He authored numerous publications in this domain that made him an incontestable reference in the field.
Novels
He has also published twelve novels since 1994, in the fields of thriller, crime novel, historical novel or story inspired by legend.
Principal Works
Le Dernier Pape (Éditions Télémaque 2013, Amazon Kindle e-book 2012 and 2014)
See detailed article: Le Dernier Pape.
The pope is dead. While the pretenders to his succession intrigue in the corridors of the Vatican, gruesomely bloody ritual murders profane places of worship, an atrocious homage to the martyrdom of Saint Peter. Two thousand years ago, the apostle cast on Rome, the place of his torture, a curse that seems ready to accomplish its purpose: a cosmic menace is about to eliminate the seat of Christianity. But the fiercest enemies of the Church are perhaps elsewhere…
This esoteric thriller, highly documented, inspired notably by the prophecy of Malachie, and the prophecy of the third secret of Fátima , provides the keys to decrypt the obscurities and the scandals that have plagued the Holy See since the origins of the papacy until today: financial scandals, secret societies, the mysterious death of John-Paul I, intrigues in the Swiss Guards, financing of programs of astronomical observation of the cosmos…
Édouard Brasey published Le Dernier Pape in March 2012 in electronic format at Amazon under the title La Prophétie de Pierre, generating 3000 downloads in three months. He subsequently published it with Éditions Télémaque in January 2013, anticipating by a few weeks the abdication of Pope Benoit XVI, which occasioned numerous articles and interviews in the national and international press.
In 2014 Édouard Brasey published an update to his novel in electronic format under the definitive title Le Dernier Pape et la Prophétie de Pierre, to integrate the latest developments concerning the Vatican, notably the election of Pope François. The book is regularly classified among the best-sellers in electronic format on the platforms Amazon.com and Amazon.fr. An English translation is in preparation.
Reviews
« In France, Edouard Brasey, a science-fiction writer known for penning thrillers, published "The Last Pope", which is eerily similar to the real-life events unfolding in the Vatican. The book’s protagonist is a pope who finds himself in the middle of numerous scandals, yet even a sci-fi guru like Brasey couldn’t stretch his imagination to the point where he envisioned the pontiff resigning from his post.
Brasey, a former journalist, was the most sought-after pundit in France this week. Everyone wondered how he managed to sniff out such a significant scoop and present his readers with the story of a troubled pope, so similar to real life.
“The pope in my book doesn’t resign, but he suffers a great deal,” he said. “He gives a speech at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican in which he vows to enact real reform throughout the church. I wrote this book in 2011 amidst all of the scandals that were being discussed at the time, and which were vividly manifest this past summer with the Vatileaks affair." Israel Hayom, February 15, 2013 .
« Édouard Brasey entices us into an adventure totally captivating, fascinating in its occult accents and gives birth to an esoteric thriller of high quality ». Corine Pirozzi, The Huffington Post .
« Édouard Brasey has just published a book that presents strange coincidences with actual events at the Vatican. Ex-journalist converted to writing fantastic novels, Édouard Brasey has not given up getting scoops. He was even ahead of reality when he published, at the beginning of January, Le Dernier Pape. A book that prophesied the upheavals that the Vatican has just experienced, the revelations of Vatileaks up to the disruptions provoked by the abdication of Benoît XVI. The thread? The machinations of a cardinal in order to take the place of the current Pope. » Laurène Daycard, « Le pape au cœur d’un thriller », Le Figaro, February 11, 2012 .
« The Vatican will always light up the imagination of novelists. Witness Edouard Brasey who has published Le Dernier Pape. A thriller which mixes the illness of a Pope, the intrigues for his succession, senseless murders and a cosmic menace. A novel researched and fascinating. » Philippe Vallet, France Info, February 3, 2013 .
« Those who like the idea of a « conglomerate of all-powerful groups that rule the world in the shadows », who thrill with excitement at each revelation made about the Vatican, who twitch at the evocation of secrets that deliberately obscure the Church, will find a great pleasure of reading in this esoteric thriller. Because the prolix Brasey, whom we know equally from works as excellent as they are serious concerning a science that is belittled (« Encyclopédie du Merveilleux »), here shows all his generosity. » Julie Malaure, « Quand le pape se meurt », Le Point, January 31, 2013 .
Franck Ferrand of Europe 1 sees this novel as « written exactly in the line of Anges et Démons by Dan Brown » . He salutes the action scenes and the numerous references, the « Renaissance décor of Saint Peter and the Vatican » alternating with « ultra-modernity », adding only the overall impression and inspiration « conspirator », but only « that which is proper to all these big novels. We are squarely in a conspiracy theory » .
Les Lavandières de Brocéliande (Editions Calmann-Lévy, 2012, Le Livre de Poche, 2014)
All-Saints Day, 1943. Gwenn, a young orphan, discovers one of her fellows, a washerwoman, drowned in the washing basin of Concoret, a small village on the edge of the forest of Brocéliande. Dahud, the oldest inhabitant, and mother of the victim, incriminates the washerwomen of the night, these supernatural creatures that, according to Breton legends, wash the bloody clothes of their still-born infants. The malediction continues to haunt the washerwomen of Brocéliande...
With this novel, Edouard Brasey inaugurates a new genre, that of historic and legendary novels of the earth, inspired by popular beliefs, in which the action takes place in Britanny. This novel has been favourably received by Le Courrier Indépendant . Followed by, at the same publisher, Les Pardons de Locronan and La Sirène d'Ouessant, published in 2013 and 2014.
His next novel, due to appear with Calmann-Lévy in 2015, is a crime novel in which the action takes place in Haute Provence at the beginning of the 1960s, L’Affaire de la Cabre d’Or.
La Malédiction de l’Anneau (Éditions Belfond, 2008 et 2010)
Magic rings and invincible swords, Valkyries and dragons, giants and dwarfs, gods and heroes animated with ardent passions affront one another in the intrigues, plots, machinations and wars of which the objective is the conquest of the cursed ring… This novelistic trilogy regroups Les Chants de la Walkyrie, Le Sommeil du Dragon and Le Trésor du Rhin. It is a saga of fantasy, full of adventure and fury, of poetry and enchantment, inspired by the same legendary sources as The Ring of the Nibelung by Richard Wagner and The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.
On June 20, 2009, Édouard Brasey received the Prix Merlin in the novels category for Les Chants de la Walkyrie, the first volume of the cycle. He received a bursary for creation from the Centre National du Livre for his writing . A short film presenting this novel was produced by Jérémy Grammatica in 2010.
Reviews
« Édouard Brasey makes the ancient Nordic sagas sing, the legend of the powerful Ases and the magnificent Vanes. A remarkable work that holds together a fantastic narrative and lyric poetry. » Valeurs Actuelles
« Eminent French specialist in the universe of fairies, folklore, myths and legends, Édouard Brasey offers us, with La Malédiction de l'Anneau, the fruit of a colossal work of compilation carried out from diverse sources, such as l'Edda, La Saga des Völsung or l'Anneau du Nibelung. Then, under the effect of the limpid, poetic and elegant pen of the author, the narrative, very well tied together, is passionate from start to finish – thanks to the strong characters, a sustained rhythm and a decidedly adult tone – and Édouard Brasey accomplishes with excellence the marriage of the elements taken from his sources and from the fruits of his creativity. The resulting work is never verbose, nor archaic, and is presented as we could imagine a modern re-reading of La Chanson des Nibelungen. A work comparable to that done by Jean Markale for his Cycle du Graal. » Nicolas L., SciFi-Universe, November 24, 2008 .
« A titanic work where we sense the love of Édouard Brasey for all that touches from near or from far the imaginary and the fantastic, to take on such a monster might seem a little reckless but the author knew how to respond to the challenge with brio and brings us a new insight into a myth that has not finished making us dream. » Plume-libre.com
« The experience of the novelist Édouard Brasey always makes itself felt, this encyclopaedist offers us a rich and fascinating account, in delivering us his fable in the manner of a spoken story as he had the habit of doing previously, so that each of us lives the adventure as if he was there. Recommended to fans of the epic, of palpitating adventures and of mythology or to all assiduous readers who want to read an excellent novel. » Khimaira.
« In the soberly styled pages, at the same time epic and sombre, as if written under the bewitching dictation of the hero of an ancient Viking adventure, the novelist manages to give new life to ancient Nordic sagas following the footsteps of the German composer Richard Wagner (L’Anneau du Nibelung) and the British writer John R.R. Tolkien (Le Seigneur des Anneaux). » Boojum-mag.net
L’Encyclopédie du Merveilleux (Editions Le Pré aux Clercs, 2005, 2006, 2007 et 2012)
From history, legends, Celtic, Greek-Roman, Germanic or Nordic mythology, literary or cinematographic creations, Édouard Brasey has collected all man’s knowledge of the tribes of fairies, elves, imps, mermaids or dwarfs, terrifying beasts such as dragons, unicorns, griffons, gargoyles, but also the creatures of the night, werewolves, vampires trolls, Cyclopes, giants, ogres, titans… In total more than 250 creatures, spirits or animals are brought to life here, with their description, their geographic and mythological origin, their habits and their history. Illustrated by hundreds of ancient engravings, paintings of masters and original works, the Encyclopédie du Merveilleux brings together all the sources of mythology, folklore and history to evoke the most fascinating creatures of imaginary worlds.
This work is made up of three volumes: Des peuples de la Lumière, Du Bestiaire Fantastique and Des Peuples de l'Ombre (2005 and 2006), re-edited into a single volume entitled La Petite Encyclopédie du Merveilleux in 2007 and La Grande Encyclopédie du Merveilleux in 2012. It earned him a double recognition at Imaginales d'Épinal in 2006: the Imaginales Special Jury Prize, and the Claude Seignolle Prize for the images. The first volume has been translated into English by Five Mile Press, under the title The Encyclopedia of Fantasy – People of Light. These works, accessible to all, have improved the knowledge of the marvellous in France.
Reviews
« "Re-enchant the world": this slogan, borrowed from the preface of this encyclopaedia, entitled "Once upon a time it was marvellous", could well define better than a long discussion the task engaged here and which must be followed to its conclusion in several volumes. » Jacques Baudou, Le Monde, October 21, 2005.
« Édouard Brasey is a major specialist of the genre. » Le Figaro
Démons et Merveilles (Éditions Le Chêne 2002, 2006 and 2010), Faeries and Demons (Barnes & Noble, New-York, 2003), Dragons, Little People, Witches, Fairies, Trolls and Elves (Hachette UK Illustrated, London, 2003)
The stories and legends of the enchanted kingdom exert an influence on our lives today - most notably in the spooky ghostliness of All Hallows Eve, which has long been celebrated throughout the Fairy Kingdom. Each of the four seasons has particular celebrations and this book aims to bring some of the background to these rituals and traditions. The illustrations throughout are by some of the world's best illustrators, including Arthur Rackham, Gustave Dore and Walter Crane. Quotations and references also feature from Shakespeare, Walter Scott and J. R. R. Tolkien.
After the success of the French edition, this work has been translated into English for Barnes & Noble (New-York) and Hachette UK Illustrated (London).
Scriptwriter for audio-visual and live arts (television, radio, screen adaptation, theatre)
Édouard Brasey is also a scriptwriter for televised documentaries, theatre and story-telling dramas and musical comedies. He has notably participated in several documentaries on historical or esoteric subjects:
. Le Sorcier Habite l’Immeuble, documentary with J.-C. Deniau, 52 minutes, France 2, October 30 ,1989.
. Les Années Algériennes, historical documentary series de Benjamin Stora, 4 x 52 minutes, France 2, October 1991.
. Des Anges, des Démons et des Hommes, documentary with J.-C. Deniau, 70 minutes, France 3, August 1995.
. Il était une Fée, documentary with Bernard Jourdain, 52 minutes, France 2, May 9, 1999.
He has written a musical comedy for children, A la Recherche d’Alandys, for Les Monts Rieurs in 2002, and co-authored with his wife, Stéphanie Brasey, a second musical comedy, L’Enfant Tombé de la Lune for Les Monts Rieurs, 2012 , .
Also with his wife, Stéphanie Brasey, he has co-authored La Porte des Secrets, a screen adaptation for Paimpont inspired by the legends of the forest of Brocéliande , .
Actor
As an actor, Édouard Brasey has made several appearances in films and television films, notably:
Les nuits de la Pleine Lune, Éric Rohmer, 1984.
Dionysos, Jean Rouch, 1984.
Nathalie, Anne Fontaine, 2003.
Joe Pollox et les Mauvais Esprits, Jérôme Foulon, 2004.
La Main du Diable, Jérémy Grammatica, 2010.
Jean Moulin, Yves Boisset, 2002.
Avocats et Associés, Affaires de Famille, Marion Jourdan – Le Sens du Devoir, Mauvais Esprit, Ciné-Cinémas special Fables and Legends, Ciné-Cinémas special Vampires.
Storyteller
As a story-teller, he has created several fables:
. La Mémoire de Merlin
. La Forêt Enchantée.
. Chercheurs de Vérité.
. Les Sept Portes des Mille et Une Nuits.
Where to find Edouard online
Website: http://edouardbrasey.com
Twitter: @Brasey
Facebook: Facebook profile
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/edouard-brasey/31/a1/185
Twitter: @Brasey
Facebook: Facebook profile
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/edouard-brasey/31/a1/185