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Research dossier · Arts & Letters

The Immortals (Barjavel novel)

1973 novel by René Barjavel

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 16, 2026
Entity authorityQ3223327 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Immortals (French: Le Grand secret) is a 1973 novel by the French writer René Barjavel. It tells the story of a grand conspiracy between world leaders. It was published in English in 1974, translated by Eileen Finletter.

The book received the Prix Maison de la Presse. It was adapted into the 1989 television serial Le grand secret, directed by Jacques Trébouta.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Immortals (Barjavel novel)” as 1973 novel by René Barjavel. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1973, 1974, 1989—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1973. The account is most persuasive where Immortals, Barjavel and novel can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1973 novel by René Barjavel. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3223327. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1973, 1974 and 1989.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Immortals (Barjavel novel)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Immortals (Barjavel novel) primary sources, The Immortals (Barjavel novel) archive and Immortals research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Immortals (Barjavel novel)”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “The Immortals (Barjavel novel)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.