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World » Europe » France

Browse book recommendations:

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Our experts have chosen the best French literature and books, from French novels and fiction to French history and leading French figures such as Charles de Gaulle. Some French book recommendation lists are city specific such as the best books on Paris, some based on the country of France and some on topics such as French cooking

If you are new to French literature start with The Greatest French Novels.

    The best books on Napoleon, recommended by Andrew Roberts

  • Read
    The best books on Napoleon - The Campaigns of Napoleon by David G Chandler

    1

    The Campaigns of Napoleon
    by David G Chandler

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    The best books on Napoleon - Talleyrand by Duff Cooper

    2

    Talleyrand
    by Duff Cooper

  • Read
    The best books on Napoleon - With Eagles to Glory: Napoleon and His German Allies in the 1809 Campaign by John H Gill

    3

    With Eagles to Glory: Napoleon and His German Allies in the 1809 Campaign
    by John H Gill

  • Read
    The best books on Napoleon - Private Memoirs Of The Court Of Napoleon by Louis François Joseph Bausset-Roquefort

    4

    Private Memoirs Of The Court Of Napoleon
    by Louis François Joseph Bausset-Roquefort

  • Read
    The best books on Napoleon - With Napoleon in Russia: Memoirs of General de Caulaincourt, Duke of Vicenza by Armand de Caulaincourt

    5

    With Napoleon in Russia: Memoirs of General de Caulaincourt, Duke of Vicenza
    by Armand de Caulaincourt

The best books on Napoleon, recommended by Andrew Roberts

How did Napoleon Bonaparte, an upstart Corsican, go on to conquer half of Europe in the 16 years of his rule? Was he a military genius? And was he really that short? Historian Andrew Roberts, author of a bestselling biography of Napoleon, introduces us to the books that shaped how he sees l’Empereur—including little-known sources from those who knew Napoleon personally.

    The Greatest French Novels, recommended by David Bellos

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    The Greatest French Novels - Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

    1

    Les Misérables
    by Victor Hugo

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    The Greatest French Novels - La Cousine Bette by Honoré de Balzac

    2

    La Cousine Bette
    by Honoré de Balzac

  • Read
    The Greatest French Novels - La Vie mode d’emploi (Life A User’s Manual) by Georges Perec

    3

    La Vie mode d’emploi (Life A User’s Manual)
    by Georges Perec

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    The Greatest French Novels - Les Fleurs Bleues (Blue on Blue) by Raymond Queneau

    4

    Les Fleurs Bleues (Blue on Blue)
    by Raymond Queneau

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    The Greatest French Novels - Pseudo (Hocus Bogus) by Romain Gary

    5

    Pseudo (Hocus Bogus)
    by Romain Gary

The Greatest French Novels, recommended by David Bellos

Booker Prize-winning translator David Bellos says Les Misérables is the greatest novel of all time. When it came out, “it was an event bigger than the launch of Titanic and Avatar put together.” He picks the five greatest French novels.

    The best books on The French Revolution, recommended by Lynn Hunt

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    The best books on The French Revolution - The Ancien Régime and the Revolution by Alexis de Tocqueville

    1

    The Ancien Régime and the Revolution
    by Alexis de Tocqueville

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    The best books on The French Revolution - Interpreting the French Revolution by François Furet

    2

    Interpreting the French Revolution
    by François Furet

  • Read
    The best books on The French Revolution - Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution by Simon Schama

    3

    Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution
    by Simon Schama

  • Read
    The best books on The French Revolution - Twelve Who Ruled by RR Palmer

    4

    Twelve Who Ruled
    by RR Palmer

  • Read
    The best books on The French Revolution - The New Regime by Isser Woloch

    5

    The New Regime
    by Isser Woloch

The best books on The French Revolution, recommended by Lynn Hunt

It’s a revolution that still resonates and yet it resists easy interpretation. Lynn Hunt, a leading historian of the French Revolution, tells us what the events of 1789 and later years really meant, and what relevance they have for us today.

    The best books on French Theatre, recommended by Florent Masse

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    The best books on French Theatre - Le théâtre des idées by Antoine Vitez

    1

    Le théâtre des idées
    by Antoine Vitez

  • Read
    The best books on French Theatre - Anthologie de L'avant-scène théâtre

    2

    Anthologie de L'avant-scène théâtre

  • Read
    The best books on French Theatre - Molière by Jacques Copeau

    3

    Molière
    by Jacques Copeau

  • Read
    The best books on French Theatre - Molière et la comédie classique by Louis Jouvet

    4

    Molière et la comédie classique
    by Louis Jouvet

  • Read
    The best books on French Theatre - Lire le théâtre by Anne Ubersfeld

    5

    Lire le théâtre
    by Anne Ubersfeld

The best books on French Theatre, recommended by Florent Masse

French theater is appreciated as much in reading as in performance. Princeton University’s Florent Masse offers us a reading from the point of view of teaching theater. How did the great men of theater—such as Jouvet, Copeau, or Vitez—build their learning? Discover the principles and references that guide the best directors. (You can also read this interview in the original French)

    The best books on Paris, recommended by David Downie

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    The best books on Paris - Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

    1

    Down and Out in Paris and London
    by George Orwell

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    The best books on Paris - Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline (translated by Ralph Manheim)

    2

    Journey to the End of the Night
    by Louis-Ferdinand Céline (translated by Ralph Manheim)

  • Read
    The best books on Paris - Overhead in a Balloon by Mavis Gallant

    3

    Overhead in a Balloon
    by Mavis Gallant

  • Read
    The best books on Paris - The Belly of Paris by Emile Zola (translated by Mark Kurlansky)

    4

    The Belly of Paris
    by Emile Zola (translated by Mark Kurlansky)

  • Read
    The best books on Paris - Dictionnaire Historique des Rues de Paris by Jacques Hillairet

    5

    Dictionnaire Historique des Rues de Paris
    by Jacques Hillairet

The best books on Paris, recommended by David Downie

The city of romance and art is also, like most big cities, a place of grit and grime. The American writer and long-time Paris resident David Downie tells us where to look if we’re to understand the people and past of this most alluring city.

    The best books on Hemingway in Paris, recommended by Wai Chee Dimock

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    The best books on Hemingway in Paris - The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

    1

    The Sun Also Rises
    by Ernest Hemingway

  • Read
    The best books on Hemingway in Paris - A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

    2

    A Moveable Feast
    by Ernest Hemingway

  • Read
    The best books on Hemingway in Paris - The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein

    3

    The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas
    by Gertrude Stein

  • Read
    The best books on Hemingway in Paris - The Book of Salt by Monique Truong

    4

    The Book of Salt
    by Monique Truong

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    The best books on Hemingway in Paris - The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain

    5

    The Paris Wife
    by Paula Mclain

The best books on Hemingway in Paris, recommended by Wai Chee Dimock

Paris in the 1920s was a creative melting pot, the haunt of Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, F Scott Fitzgerald and James Joyce. The Yale English professor gives us a feel for what it was like to be there

    The best books on French Attitudes to America, recommended by Richard Kuisel

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    The best books on French Attitudes to America - The American Enemy by Philippe Roger

    1

    The American Enemy
    by Philippe Roger

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    The best books on French Attitudes to America - America: The Menace by Georges Duhamel

    2

    America: The Menace
    by Georges Duhamel

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    The best books on French Attitudes to America - De Gaulle by Jean Lacouture

    3

    De Gaulle
    by Jean Lacouture

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    The best books on French Attitudes to America - Jean Monnet by Sherrill Brown Wells

    4

    Jean Monnet
    by Sherrill Brown Wells

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    The best books on French Attitudes to America - France in an Age of Globalization by Hubert Védrine

    5

    France in an Age of Globalization
    by Hubert Védrine

The best books on French Attitudes to America, recommended by Richard Kuisel

The historian tells us how French condescension towards America goes back to the 18th century, but more recent antagonisms can be traced to the Second World War

    The best books on Charles de Gaulle’s Place in French Culture, recommended by Sudhir Hazareesingh

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    The best books on Charles de Gaulle’s Place in French Culture - Army of Shadows by Joseph Kessel

    1

    Army of Shadows
    by Joseph Kessel

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    The best books on Charles de Gaulle’s Place in French Culture - The Complete War Memoirs of Charles de Gaulle by Charles De Gaulle

    2

    The Complete War Memoirs of Charles de Gaulle
    by Charles De Gaulle

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    The best books on Charles de Gaulle’s Place in French Culture - Fallen Oaks by André Malraux

    3

    Fallen Oaks
    by André Malraux

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    The best books on Charles de Gaulle’s Place in French Culture - Futurist of the Nation by Régis Debray

    4

    Futurist of the Nation
    by Régis Debray

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    The best books on Charles de Gaulle’s Place in French Culture - The General by Jonathan Fenby

    5

    The General
    by Jonathan Fenby

  • Read
    The best books on Charles de Gaulle’s Place in French Culture - Le Mythe Gaullien by Sudhir Hazareesingh

    6

    Le Mythe Gaullien
    by Sudhir Hazareesingh

The best books on Charles de Gaulle’s Place in French Culture, recommended by Sudhir Hazareesingh

Hazareesingh’s book choices include de Gaulle’s “very readable” war diaries. In books of condolences after the leader’s death, people wrote things like, “Goodbye Charles, you were greater than Napoleon”

    The best books on Charles de Gaulle and the French Resistance, recommended by Jonathan Fenby

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    The best books on Charles de Gaulle and the French Resistance - Churchill and De Gaulle by François Kersaudy

    1

    Churchill and De Gaulle
    by François Kersaudy

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    The best books on Charles de Gaulle and the French Resistance - Assignment to Catastrophe by Edward Spears

    2

    Assignment to Catastrophe
    by Edward Spears

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    The best books on Charles de Gaulle and the French Resistance - The Resistance by Matthew Cobb

    3

    The Resistance
    by Matthew Cobb

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    The best books on Charles de Gaulle and the French Resistance - L’Armée des Ombres (Army of Shadows) by Jean-Pierre Melville

    4

    L’Armée des Ombres (Army of Shadows)
    by Jean-Pierre Melville

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    The best books on Charles de Gaulle and the French Resistance - Bad Faith: A History of Family and Fatherland by Carmen Callil

    5

    Bad Faith: A History of Family and Fatherland
    by Carmen Callil

The best books on Charles de Gaulle and the French Resistance, recommended by Jonathan Fenby

The historian and author chooses five books on de Gaulle and the Resistance. He says the British tried to veto de Gaulle’s famous 1940 speech from London calling on the French to stand up to German occupation

    The best books on French Cooking, recommended by Elisabeth Luard

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    The best books on French Cooking - Two Towns in Provence by M F K Fisher

    1

    Two Towns in Provence
    by M F K Fisher

  • Read
    The best books on French Cooking - La Cuisinière Provençale by J B Reboul

    2

    La Cuisinière Provençale
    by J B Reboul

  • Read
    The best books on French Cooking - Cooking in Ten Minutes by Edouard de Pomiane

    3

    Cooking in Ten Minutes
    by Edouard de Pomiane

  • Read
    The best books on French Cooking - The Food of France by Waverley Root

    4

    The Food of France
    by Waverley Root

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    The best books on French Cooking - Goose Fat and Garlic by Jeanne Strang

    5

    Goose Fat and Garlic
    by Jeanne Strang

The best books on French Cooking, recommended by Elisabeth Luard

The food writer and journalist says it was a Pole, Edouard de Pomiane, who taught the French housewife how to cook.

    The best books on France in the 1960s, recommended by Richard Wolin

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    The best books on France in the 1960s - The Words by Jean-Paul Sartre

    1

    The Words
    by Jean-Paul Sartre

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    The best books on France in the 1960s - The Lives of Michel Foucault by David Macey

    2

    The Lives of Michel Foucault
    by David Macey

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    The best books on France in the 1960s - Godard by Colin MacCabe

    3

    Godard
    by Colin MacCabe

  • Read
    The best books on France in the 1960s - The Black Book of Communism by Stéphane Courtois

    4

    The Black Book of Communism
    by Stéphane Courtois

  • Read
    The best books on France in the 1960s - Living in Arcadia by Julian Jackson

    5

    Living in Arcadia
    by Julian Jackson

The best books on France in the 1960s, recommended by Richard Wolin

The author and historian Richard Wolin explains that French people in the late 1960s were desperate for a utopian political alternative.

    The best books on The Other France, recommended by Carmen Callil

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    The best books on The Other France - Dreyfus: A Family Affair, 1789-1945 by Michael Burns

    1

    Dreyfus: A Family Affair, 1789-1945
    by Michael Burns

  • Read
    The best books on The Other France - The Burden of Responsibility by Tony Judt

    2

    The Burden of Responsibility
    by Tony Judt

  • Read
    The best books on The Other France - France by Julian Jackson

    3

    France
    by Julian Jackson

  • Read
    The best books on The Other France - Franco by Paul Preston

    4

    Franco
    by Paul Preston

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    The best books on The Other France - Hitler’s Pope by John Cornwell

    5

    Hitler’s Pope
    by John Cornwell

The best books on The Other France, recommended by Carmen Callil

Author and founder of Virago Press decries the absolute silence of the church during the Holocaust, and discusses five books on the “dark and murky side” the French have now “faced up to”

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