Calmann-Lévy

In 1836, Michel Lévy (1821–1875) founded the publishing house of Michel Lévy frères. In 1844, his brother Kalmus "Calmann" Lévy (1819–1891) joined the publishing house. After Michel's death in 1875, Calmann became the sole proprietor and the firm was renamed Calmann Lévy. Shortly before his death, he admitted his three sons into a partnership.

By 1875, the company was among the foremost publishing houses of Europe. It was the publisher of most of the important French authors of the second half of the 19th century, including Balzac, Baudelaire, René Bazin, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Dumas, Flaubert, Victor Hugo, Lamartine, Ernest Renan, George Sand, and Stendhal. In 1891, it published the memoirs of Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, and in 1893, the memoirs of Alexis de Tocqueville. In 1893, Calmann was succeeded by his sons Georges, Paul, and Gaston, who went on to publish authors including Anatole France, Pierre Loti and Proust.

During Nazi occupation, Gaston Lévy was interned, and the publishing company, run by the Germans, was renamed Éditions Balzac in 1943. After the liberation, the company was headed by Léon Pioton.

Authors edited during the postwar period included: Arthur Koestler, Elia Kazan, Anne Frank, and later Donna Leon, Nicolas Hulot, Patricia Cornwell, Guillaume Musso, among others.

Present day

Since 1993, Calmann-Lévy has been owned by publisher Hachette (which is in turn owned by Lagardère Group).