Best French Literature Books
Here you will get Best French Literature Books For you.This is an up-to-date list of recommended books.
1. The Stranger
Author: by Albert Camus
0679720200
Vintage (March 13, 1989)
English
With the intrigue of a psychological thriller, Camus’s masterpiece gives us the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach. Behind the intrigue, Camus explores what he termed “the nakedness of man faced with the absurd” and describes the condition of reckless alienation and spiritual exhaustion that characterized so much of twentieth-century life.
First published in 1946; now in translation by Matthew Ward.
2. The Plague
Author: by Albert Camus
English
320 pages
0679720219
Its relevance lashes you across the face. Stephen Metcalf, The Los Angeles Times A redemptive book, one that wills the reader to believe, even in a time of despair. Roger Lowenstein, The Washington Post A haunting tale of human resilience and hope in the face of unrelieved horror, Albert Camus’ iconic novel about an epidemic ravaging the people of a North African coastal town is a classic of twentieth-century literature.
The townspeople of Oran are in the grip of a deadly plague, which condemns its victims to a swift and horrifying death. Fear, isolation and claustrophobia follow as they are forced into quarantine. Each person responds in their own way to the lethal disease: some resign themselves to fate, some seek blame, and a few, like Dr. Rieux, resist the terror.
An immediate triumph when it was published in 1947, The Plague is in part an allegory of France’s suffering under the Nazi occupation, and a timeless story of bravery and determination against the precariousness of human existence.
3. The Lupin Collection: Over 25 Arsène Lupin Adventures from: The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar, Arsène Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes, The Confessions of Arsène Lupin
Author: by Maurice Leblanc
B08XFJ8X76
English
354 pages
Three Books In One!In one volume, a collection of over 25 adventure tales featuring Maurice Leblanc’s classic gentleman-burglar Arsne Lupin, many also featuring his nemesis Sherlock Holmes (or rather, Herlock Sholmes). Included in this volume are tales drawn from three books:The Extraordinary Adventures of Arsne Lupin, Gentleman-Burglar (translated by George Morehead in 1910)Arsne Lupin Versus Herlock Sholmes (translated by George Morehead in 1910)The Confessions of Arsne Lupin (translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (1865-1921) in 1913).
Arsne Lupin is the fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories starting in 1905, eventually starring in over 17 novels and 39 novellas. While a thief operating on the “wrong” side of the law, Leblanc frames Lupin as a force for good – one-upping and unmasking villains far more evil than he.
A memorable and beloved character, Lupin has been the subject of numerous film and TV adaptations, including a 2021 blockbuster TV series. Maurice Leblanc (1864 1941) was a French novelist and short story writer, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsne Lupin, often described as a French counterpart to Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation Sherlock Holmes.
4. The Huguenot Connection Trilogy: Books 1 – 3: Includes: Merchants of Virtue, Voyage of Malice, Land of Hope
Author: by Paul C.R. Monk
English
761 pages
191648591X
A trilogy of epic historical adventure complete in one volume. A family torn apart. A king with an iron fist. Will their faith, love and loyalty be strong enough to help them survive war, persecution and a cruel separation?France, 1685.
Jeanne is the wife of a wealthy merchant, but now she risks losing everything. Louis XIV’s soldiers will stop at nothing to convert the country’s Huguenot “heretics” to the “true” faith, yet Jeanne and Jacob hold fast to their principals of liberty of conscience.
But will the punishment for their defiance be more than they can bear? If Jeanne and Jacob can’t find a way to evade the soldiers’ clutches, their family will face a fate worse than poverty and imprisonment. They may never see each other again As Jacob becomes an indentured servant in America and Jeanne earns a meager living in Switzerland, a sudden disruption in European politics leaves their chance of a bittersweet homecoming more doubtful than everWill the Delpech family survive the years of war, piracy and persecution to reunite at last?
5. The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Clothbound Classics)
Author: by Alexandre Dumas
0141392460
Penguin Classics
English
A beautiful new clothbound edition of Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel of wrongful imprisonment, adventure and revenge. Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of the Chteau d’If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and becomes determined not only to escape but to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration.
A huge popular success when it was first serialized in the 1840s, Dumas was inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment when writing his epic tale of suffering and retribution.
6. Sarah's Key
Author: by Tatiana de Rosnay
St. Martin's Griffin
English
295 pages
Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family’s apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France’s past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah.
Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl’s ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d’Hiv’, to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah’s past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.
Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.
7. Nausea (New Directions Paperbook)
Author: by Jean-Paul Sartre
0811220303
New Directions
English
Sartre’s greatest novel and existentialism’s key text now introduced by James Wood. Nausea is the story of Antoine Roquentin, a French writer who is horrified at his own existence. In impressionistic, diary form he ruthlessly catalogs his every feeling and sensation.
His thoughts culminate in a pervasive, overpowering feeling of nausea which spreads at the bottom of the viscous puddle, at the bottom of our time the time of purple suspenders and broken chair seats; it is made of wide, soft instants, spreading at the edge, like an oil stain.
Winner of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature (though he declined to accept it), Jean-Paul Sartre philosopher, critic, novelist, and dramatist holds a position of singular eminence in the world of French letters. La Nause, his first and best novel, is a landmark in Existential fiction and a key work of the twentieth century.
8. Les Miserables (Signet Classics)
Author: by Victor Hugo
Signet
English
1488 pages
NOW A SIX-PART MINISERIES ON MASTERPIECE ON PBSThe only completely unabridged paperback edition of Victor Hugo’s masterpiecea sweeping tale of love, loss, valor, and passion. Introducing one of the most famous characters in literature, Jean Valjeanthe noble peasant imprisoned for stealing a loaf of breadLes Misrables ranks among the greatest novels of all time.
In it, Victor Hugo takes readers deep into the Parisian underworld, immerses them in a battle between good and evil, and carries them to the barricades during the uprising of 1832 with a breathtaking realism that is unsurpassed in modern prose.
Within his dramatic story are themes that capture the intellect and the emotions: crime and punishment, the relentless persecution of Valjean by Inspector Javert, the desperation of the prostitute Fantine, the amorality of the rogue Thnardier, and the universal desire to escape the prisons of our own minds.
Les Misrables gave Victor Hugo a canvas upon which he portrayed his criticism of the French political and judicial systems, but the portrait that resulted is larger than life, epic in scopean extravagant spectacle that dazzles the senses even as it touches the heart.
9. Swann's Way: In Search of Lost Time, Vol. 1 (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
Author: by Marcel Proust
Penguin Classics
English
468 pages
Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time is one of the most entertaining reading experiences in any language and arguably the finest novel of the twentieth century. But since its original prewar translation there has been no completely new version in English.
Now, Penguin Classics brings Proust’s masterpiece to new audiences throughout the world, beginning with Lydia Davis’s internationally acclaimed translation of the first volume, Swann’s Way.
10. Arsène Lupin: The Collection (Arsène Lupin Gentleman Burglar, Arsène Lupin vs Herlock Sholmes, The Hollow Needle, 813, The Crystal Stopper and many more)
Author: by Maurice Leblanc
B08W23Q8KS
July 12, 2021
English
The series that inspired the Netflix show. This collection contains 38 Arsne Lupin stories (the biggest and greatest Arsne Lupin collection in the eBook world), including: Arsne Lupin, Gentleman Burglar- Arsne Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes – The Hollow Needle – 813- The Crystal Stopper – The Confessions of Arsne Lupin – The Teeth of The Tiger – The Shell Shard – The Golden Triangle: The Return of Arsne Lupin- The Secret of Sarek – The Eight Strokes of The Clock – The Secret Tomb- Memoirs of Arsne Lupin- The Mysterious Mansion
11. Les Miserables: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
Author: by Victor Hugo
Penguin Classics
English
1456 pages
The first new Penguin Classics translation in forty years of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, the subject of The Novel of the Century by David Bellospublished in a stunning Deluxe edition. Winner of the French-American Foundation & Florence Gould Foundation’s 29th Annual Translation Prize in Fiction.
The subject of the world’s longest-running musical and the award-winning film, Les Misrables is a genuine literary treasure. Victor Hugo’s tale of injustice, heroism, and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him, and has been a perennial favorite since it first appeared over 150 years ago.
This exciting new translation with Jillian Tamaki’s brilliant cover art will be a gift both to readers who have already fallen for its timeless story and to new readers discovering it for the first time. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world.
With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
12. Les Miserables
Author: by Victor Hugo
English
1264 pages
1626864640
The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness. So long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books of the nature of Les Misrables cannot fail to be of use, says Victor Hugo in the preface of his famous novel.
Set in the years after the French Revolution, Les Misrables is certainly French history recounted through the personal stories of its main characters: Jean Valjean, Fantine, Cosette, Javert, and others. And the novel offers philosophical insight on the good deeds that can happen even amidst ignorance and poverty.
This handsome leather-bound volume is a beautiful addition to any classic literature library with specially designed endpapers, gilded edges, and a ribbon bookmark so you will never lose your place.
13. The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Author: by Muriel Barbery
Europa Editions
English
325 pages
The phenomenal New York Times bestseller that explores the upstairs-downstairs goings-on of a posh Parisian apartment building (Publishers Weekly). In an elegant htel particulier in Paris, Rene, the concierge, is all but invisibleshort, plump, middle-aged, with bunions on her feet and an addiction to television soaps.
Her only genuine attachment is to her cat, Leo. In short, she’s everything society expects from a concierge at a bourgeois building in an upscale neighborhood. But Rene has a secret: she furtively, ferociously devours art, philosophy, music, and Japanese culture.
With biting humor, she scrutinizes the lives of the tenantsher inferiors in every way except that of material wealth. Paloma is a twelve-year-old who lives on the fifth floor. Talented and precocious, she’s come to terms with life’s seeming futility and decided to end her own on her thirteenth birthday.
Until then, she will continue hiding her extraordinary intelligence behind a mask of mediocrity, acting the part of an average pre-teen high on pop culture, a good but not outstanding student, an obedient if obstinate daughter. Paloma and Rene hide their true talents and finest qualities from a world they believe cannot or will not appreciate them.
14. The Woman Destroyed (Pantheon Modern Writers)
Author: by Simone De Beauvoir
Pantheon
English
256 pages
In three immensely intelligent stories about the decay of passion (The Sunday Herald Times [London]), Simone de Beauvoir draws us into the lives of three women, all past their first youth, all facing unexpected crises. Enthralling as faction, suffused with de Beauvoir’s remarkable insights into women, The Woman Destroyed gives us a legendary writer at her best.
15. Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief: Inspiration for a Major Streaming Series (Penguin Classics)
Author: by Maurice Leblanc
Penguin Publishing Group
English
304 pages
The inspiration for the new Netflix series, Lupin, starring Omar Sy A curated collection of the very best adventures of Arsne Lupin, France’s most famous gentleman thief The poor and the innocent have nothing to fear from Lupin; often they profit from his spontaneous generosity.
The rich and powerful, and the detective who tries to spoil his fun, however, must beware. They are the target of Lupin’s mischief. With plans that frequently evolve into elaborate plots, Lupin is a gentleman burglar turned detective, and the most entertaining criminal genius in literature.
These stories the best of the Lupin series, including The Queen’s Necklace and Arsne Lupin in Prison are outrageous and witty, for the full enjoyment of those who love masters of disguise, extraordinary heists, and the panache found with Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Ocean’s Eleven and Lupin.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
16. In Search of Lost Time: Proust 6-pack (Modern Library Classics)
Author: by Marcel Proust
Modern Library
English
4211 pages
For this authoritative English-language edition, D.J. Enright has revised the late Terence Kilmartin’s acclaimed reworking of C.K. Scott Moncrieff’s translation to take into account the new definitive French editions of la recherche du temps perdu (the final volume of these new editions was published by the Bibliothque de la Pliade in 1989).
