HEADLINER
Literature and Fiction
MADELAINE BEFORE THE DAWN
Nature, serfs and abused women in a ruthless and patriarchal rural world — Madelaine avant l'aube is a powerful dark fable in which Sandrine Collette challenges the established order through Madelaine, a courageous and rebellious young girl from the forest, who immediately seduced French readers, especially young readers.
Imagine a place stuck in time. A tiny hamlet, Les Montées, nestled on the banks of a river. Here, life has never been merciful. The story could take place in the Middle Ages, sometime in the early twentieth century, or in the near future, if the worst climate predictions come true. Families cultivate a barren land that’s not even theirs, and are subject to injustice. The women suffer extreme violence, including rape, at the hands of the men, who even go so far as to massacre them.
It is in this world that Rose, the elderly healer, and the twins, Aelis and Amber, live. One twin has several children, the other is trying in vain to start a family. The arrival of Madelaine, an abandoned wild young girl, seems to be an omen. Adopted, she quickly upsets the balance of her new family because the anger that fills her heart is incompatible with their philosophy of the survival of the fittest.
"Madelaine, my young heroine, is what we call 'a child of hunger', one whose parents have died of starvation. She wanders the countryside until she arrives at Les Montées. Madelaine is both a breath of fresh air and an irritating grain of sand, because her instinct is to revolt," explains the author.
"This novel extends Sandrine Collette’s universe, one deeply rooted in wild, untamed nature — much like her previous novel, On était des loups (We Were Wolves), which won the 2022 Prix Renaudot des Lycéens and told the story of a father and son struggling to survive in a hostile forest."
With Madelaine avant l'aube, Sandrine Collette "continues to amaze her readers," says Roméo Van Mastrigt in the magazine Page des libraires: "Rarely does an author make you so hungry, so cold, and make you feel the bite of an icy breeze with such intensity."
Le Parisien is equally enthusiastic: "With this magnificent and poetic text, very harsh but sometimes luminous, Sandrine Collette rises to the top of her craft. Fresh, literary, full of emotion and intrigue, engaging, extremely well written, incredibly endearing characters... it has everything. It’s impossible not to be affected; or to forget Madelaine.”
Nearly 200,000 copies have been sold in France. The book has been awarded the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens, le Prix Goncourt des Détenus, and the Choix Goncourt from Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, Italy, Turkey and the United States. It was also voted Best Novel of the Year by Lire literary magazine and was on Le Point top 30 Books of the year.
English (world), Castilian, Czech, Croatian, Serbian, Danish, Italian and Ukrainian translation rights have been sold to date. "Rights for German, Dutch, and Asian languages are still available," says Lily Salter, Head of Rights at Éditions JC Lattès, who is counting on Madelaine's irresistible free spirit to win over even more readers around the world.
Katja Petrovic
April 2025
Nature, serfs and abused women in a ruthless and patriarchal rural world — Madelaine avant l'aube is a powerful dark fable in which Sandrine Collette challenges the established order through Madelaine, a courageous and rebellious young girl from the forest, who immediately seduced French readers, especially young readers.
Imagine a place stuck in time. A tiny hamlet, Les Montées, nestled on the banks of a river. Here, life has never been merciful. The story could take place in the Middle Ages, sometime in the early twentieth century, or in the near future, if the worst climate predictions come true. Families cultivate a barren land that’s not even theirs, and are subject to injustice. The women suffer extreme violence, including rape, at the hands of the men, who even go so far as to massacre them.
It is in this world that Rose, the elderly healer, and the twins, Aelis and Amber, live. One twin has several children, the other is trying in vain to start a family. The arrival of Madelaine, an abandoned wild young girl, seems to be an omen. Adopted, she quickly upsets the balance of her new family because the anger that fills her heart is incompatible with their philosophy of the survival of the fittest.
"Madelaine, my young heroine, is what we call 'a child of hunger', one whose parents have died of starvation. She wanders the countryside until she arrives at Les Montées. Madelaine is both a breath of fresh air and an irritating grain of sand, because her instinct is to revolt," explains the author.
"This novel extends Sandrine Collette’s universe, one deeply rooted in wild, untamed nature — much like her previous novel, On était des loups (We Were Wolves), which won the 2022 Prix Renaudot des Lycéens and told the story of a father and son struggling to survive in a hostile forest."
With Madelaine avant l'aube, Sandrine Collette "continues to amaze her readers," says Roméo Van Mastrigt in the magazine Page des libraires: "Rarely does an author make you so hungry, so cold, and make you feel the bite of an icy breeze with such intensity."
Le Parisien is equally enthusiastic: "With this magnificent and poetic text, very harsh but sometimes luminous, Sandrine Collette rises to the top of her craft. Fresh, literary, full of emotion and intrigue, engaging, extremely well written, incredibly endearing characters... it has everything. It’s impossible not to be affected; or to forget Madelaine.”
Nearly 200,000 copies have been sold in France. The book has been awarded the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens, le Prix Goncourt des Détenus, and the Choix Goncourt from Switzerland, Austria, Slovakia, Italy, Turkey and the United States. It was also voted Best Novel of the Year by Lire literary magazine and was on Le Point top 30 Books of the year.
English (world), Castilian, Czech, Croatian, Serbian, Danish, Italian and Ukrainian translation rights have been sold to date. "Rights for German, Dutch, and Asian languages are still available," says Lily Salter, Head of Rights at Éditions JC Lattès, who is counting on Madelaine's irresistible free spirit to win over even more readers around the world.
Katja Petrovic
April 2025
Katja Petrovic
April 2025