Giselle: Brigitte:
Some say Brigitte is the female version of James Bond for whom thousands of readers of her adventures felt in love in the '60s. While the texts of approximately 500 pocket books have characterized her as the all-time most efficient secret agent, their covers brought their beautiful and desirable image, sometimes in sexy poses.
Her pocket books have been published for three decades in Brazil and most part of the collection was also published in Spain and Portugal. There are no reports that these books have been translated into English and it is a pity that English readers never had access to their adventures. A new book was published on a fortnight basis and their success in Brazil was so much that 250,000 copies have been printed for most of each edition.
Besides its stunning beauty, Brigitte became the CIA´s spy nr. 1 due to its own merits: millionaire, with an intelligence above average, polyglot, she is considered the queen of disguise and she knows how to swim and shoot with speed and accuracy as well as to pilot airplanes, helicopters and any other type of vehicle even those manufactured outside the Western world.
If that is the daughter, what to say about the mother?
Giselle, on the other hand, was not able to handle a gun or fight martial arts. Her only weapon was her body and she has never hesitated to use it to gather secrets from Nazis during the occupation of France in the WWII. Her story, narrated in only 4 pocket books, includes a high level of sexual content. The other reason for its astounding success was the divulgation by editors that it was a true self narrative detailed on the diary of someone who fought in French Resistance and died in a prison by hands of a firing squad. Details like the supposed original title in French language as well as the name of the supposed translator into Portuguese have been included in the books, however the imagination behind this bombastic scenario came exclusively from the Brazilian editors.
Sales were in a so unpredictable level that, while the 3rd book was still being printed and the 4th being written, editors and distributors noticed that they should find a solution of continuity. Although Giselle died in the 4th book as originally foreseen, her major secret is also revealed: Upon giving birth to a baby, the father, a Nazi strategist called Fritz Bierrenbach, has kidnapped their daughter and took her to be raised by wealthy relatives living in New York. Therefore, Brigitte supposedly was born in 1938 or 1939.
Giselle died on March 15th, 1944 without having the opportunity to see her daughter. The name Brigitte has been chosen by her father who included the surname Montfort in her baptism: Brigitte Montfort Bierrenbach. This detail leaded the French Intelligence, many years later, to conclude that Brigitte was the daughter of Giselle.
Brigitte got the US citizenship at adult age and completed her education in the University of Columbia. She was used to work as a journalist for the "Morning News", one of the most important newspapers from NYC. In this condition Brigitte debuted his first adventure called "The Daughter Of Giselle In The Mistery Of The Flying Saucer" in which she had never even hold a weapon.
This was the overall argument that unleashed what is probably the world longest collection of books with approximately 500 adventures of the same character. Editors have adopted the previous formula for success by asserting that Brigitte was as real as Giselle. This is the prologue of this first adventure that has been translated into English by David J. Foster (or James Hopwood or any other of his aliases), an enthusiast of these series that lives in Melbourne, Australia and that owns the http://permissiontokill.com/:
“The Daughter of Giselle in 'The Mystery of the Flying Saucer'
Before Starting
The daughter of Giselle, Brigitte Montfort, exists, in some part of the world, acting under another name, in similar circumstances to the ones that are told now in this book. Her true identity, however, cannot be disclosed, so as not to jeopardize her work for the Secret Service.
In the last pages of Giselle's biography, The Naked Spy Who Shook Paris, it states clearly that the famous heroine of the French Resistance, before being arrested and shot at Cherche Midi prison, on the morning of 15 of March of 1944, confessed to her companion in jail, Gabriéle Ladème, that she had given birth to a daughter on the eve of World War II. The father of the child - Giselle explained - was a German who had abandoned her when she was pregnant, but later had the girl abducted.
The celebrity spy died without knowing her daughter - not even her name or her whereabouts.
Twenty years later, the daughter of Giselle appeared in the United States – pretty, elegant, courageous and…
Well, maybe it's better if you start reading the story.”
Sources:
Posters scannings: www.benicioilustrador.com.br/
Covers scannings: Own collection
Photo: Members of the Maquis in La Tresorerie (Public Domain)
Prologue translation: David J. Foster
Hi! Do you know if is there any Brigitte Montfort book in english?
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a single one, even a home-made translation in pdf. It is a shame. 100% of the books are available in Brazilian Portuguese and I estimate that 80% of them are available in Spanish.
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