Martine is the best-known little girl in children's literature with more than 110 million albums sold in France between 1954 and 2010, 40 million abroad including one in Chinese and one in Hebrew, more than 200 derivative products, a film and a cartoon.
But while an opus of her adventures, Martine in Paris, was released in bookstores, we had forgotten that her father, the French screenwriter Gilbert Delahaye (1923 - 1997) was originally from Rouen.
Gilbert Delahaye was born exactly, rue de la Nation in the hamlet of Faulx in Franqueville-sur-Pierre (Seine-Maritime).
For professional reasons, his family settled in 1926 in Dunkirk, then in 1937 in Tournai in Belgium.
In 1944, the young Frenchman joined Casterman as a typographer: “His bosses noticed his quality as a writer.
They asked him to write a story for young people with a central character.
The first album,
Martine à la ferme,
was released in 1954. Faced with its success, they encouraged her to join forces with the illustrator Marcel Marlier (1930-2011) in order to make a series,” says Philippe Leroy the former mayor of Franqueville-sur-Pierre.
Also read: Martine, a heroine always up to date
Thanks to her lively and attractive stories told in a clear and concise manner, which address universal themes such as friendship, family, nature and the discovery of the world, but also thanks to the realistic and detailed illustrations of the Belgian Marcel Marlier, Martine is become a unique reference in the world of children's publishing.
The incarnation of the prosperous France of the Thirty Glorious Years.
The Grigneuseville farm a source of inspiration?
Many tributes have already been paid in Franqueville-sur-Pierre to Martine's father, as in 2004: "For Martine's 50th birthday, we organized a major exhibition at the Bourvil cultural space," recalls Philippe Leroy, the former mayor.
The wife and son Jean-Pierre came.
A major project was even in the works.
The city thought about building a museum, but it was too expensive.
Then, his son told me that three statues of Martine and her dog had to be made.
I immediately thought of putting one in the town's public garden.
But at the last moment, Casterman editions and the designer refused to allow Martine to leave Belgium.”
“Martine in Paris”, the latest opus of the collection, whose publication coincides with the Olympic Games in the capital.
Casterman
“It’s a shame,” comments Philippe Leroy.
That being said, we imagined another exhibition, and then time passed.
On the other hand, the family continued to come on vacation to Normandy for a long time, to which they are very attached,” remembers the former mayor.
Gilbert Delahaye, Martine's father, himself regularly went, with his wife and children, to the Grigneuseville region, near Neufchâtel-en-Bray, to a farm which, according to the inhabitants, would have inspired the first story.
Read alsoThe village of Barrils, in Eure, remembers the father of Poulbots
Since the disappearance of its creators and Martine and the mysterious prince (in 2010), no new album has been released.
But Martine has not disappeared from bookstores: the publisher Casterman even recently decided to launch new albums.
After Martine at the Louvre (2021), Martine at the Palace of Versailles (2022), Martine in Brittany (2023), a new adventure has just been released to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its creation, “Martine in Paris”.
The eternal little girl, accompanied by Jean and her faithful Patapouf “marvel in turn at the Champs Élysées, Montmartre and the Sacré Cœur, Notre-Dame de Paris, the Louvre museum, the Place des Vosges and of course. .. Eiffel Tower !
» An exhibition is dedicated to him until April 11 at the Gallimard gallery, rue de l'Université (VIIth).
Paris will always be Paris and Martine is always Martine.