Miss Bambù
Miss Bambù is a novel of Pierre Mac Orlan published in 1950. It is composed of two parts: Girls and wearing of Europe and Father Barbançon
In the edition of 1950, there are a foreword of the author and a postface of Gilbert Sigaux.
On the literary level
This book is an example of what the author calls fantastic the social.August 1st
Girls and wearing of Europe
The final version of this part goes back to January 1932 (before the Second world war).The history is inspired partly by dead by the spy Mata Hari (1876 - 1917) (the author quotes its name in the chapter 7).
The book tells several versions of the same history: before the First World War, Bambù, a métisse with light manners speaking perfectly German spy the French Army on behalf of Germany. It is made take and it is shot (in several versions) or is assassinated (in only one version).
The history proceeds in various European ports: Naples, Palermo, Brest, Rouen… etc
Anecdotes
The novel also speaks in an anecdotic way of some serial killers (chapter 8): Jack the eventror, Landru (1869 - 1922), Fritz Haarmann (1879 - 1925) and Peter Kürten (1883 - 1932). In connection with Jack the eventror, the author sees it like a source of inspiration of Stevenson for the character of Hyde-Jekyll.
Father Barbançon
The final version of this part goes back to 1948 (after the Second world war).This part tells also various versions of history concerning a spy: Barbançon father
Anecdotes
A short passage recalls an enumeration to the Prévert (chapter 7).There are some winks with a news of Poe the Fall of the Usher house.
Snark, one of the nicknames of Barbançon Father, is inspired by hunting for the snark of Lewis Caroll.
Quotations
- Nothing is renewed less than the defect if it is not the stupidity (chapter 4)
- There are people who are afraid of the life (...) but they are not most naive (fine of chapter 9)
- Demain is a modest future whose expiry seems fatal with many optimists (beginning chapter 4 of the second part)
- (...) it is not the man who orders the Browning, but the Browning which orders the man (chapter 3 of the first partie)
Related articles
- Pabst : the author is inspired inter alia this scenario writer to describe an atmosphere (chapter 5 of the first partie