Bouchet/Chastel grew out of Edmond Bouchet and Jean Chastel's acquisition of the Korea Publishing House in 1936. Edmond Bouchet, who headed the company until 1969, was a true discoverer of talent in French literature.Blaise Sandrar, Maurice Sachs... also published works by prominent writers, including some of the most prominent figures in the French literary scene: André Gide, Paul Valéry, Colette... and others forgotten today: Charles Pleisnier - winner of the Goncourt Prize in 1937 -, Maria Le Hardouin - winner of the Femena Prize in 1949, as well as writers of "Classics", French and foreigners: Gustave Flaubert, Nicolas Gogol...As a visionary, Edmond Bouchet, particularly under the influence of Maurice Nadu and his collection The Way of Life, developed a powerful stream of contemporary foreign literature, including Henry Miller, Lawrence Durrell, and Malcolm Laurie… who have been the jewel of the publishing house for many years. Bouchet was a man of refined taste and humanity, as well as an interest in music and the arts, and he successfully launched the “Music” collection that remains an essential reference to this day.From 1970 to 1994, Guy Boucher, the founder's son, focused on developing non-literary collections created by his father, along with a literature catalogue, and launched a “spirituality” series on yoga and Buddhist thought.
The publishing house joined the Libella Group in 2001. Since then, it has maintained and developed its literary focus: French and foreign novels, essays and documents, giving prominence to music and opening up to other fields such as ecology, in full spiritual autonomy, a characteristic and dear to VeraAnd Jan Michalski, the founders of the Libella Group.
Today, nearly fifty new publications annually testify to this new literary momentum, and to a renewed dynamism.
