Historical fiction books from France
Recommended historical fiction books (65)
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
If you are into historical fiction here are some historical fiction books from France for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge.
21.
HHhH by Laurent Binet EN
Description:
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER Two men have been enlisted to kill the head of the Gestapo. This is Operation Anthropoid, Prague, 1942- two Czechoslovakian parachutists sent on a daring mission by London to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich - chief of the Nazi secret services, 'the hangman of Prague', 'the blond beast', 'the most dangerous man in the Third Reich'. His boss is Heinrich Himmler but everyone in the SS says 'Himmler's brain is called Heydrich', which in German spells HHhH. HHhH is a panorama of the Third Reich told through the life of one outstandingly brutal man, a story of unbearable h... continue
22.
Honour by Elif Shafak EN
Description:
An honor killing shatters and transforms the lives of Turkish immigrants in 1970s London in this novel from the author of The Island of Missing Trees (a Reese's Book Club pick) Internationally bestselling Turkish author Elif Shafak’s new novel is a dramatic tale of families, love, and misunderstandings that follows the destinies of twin sisters born in a Kurdish village. While Jamila stays to become a midwife, Pembe follows her Turkish husband, Adem, to London, where they hope to make new lives for themselves and their children. In London, they face a choice: stay loyal to the old traditions o... continue
23.
I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé EN
Description:
CARAF Books: Caribbean and African Literature Translated from FrenchThis book has been supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agencY
24.
Description:
It's 1914, and talk of war feels far away to Henry Gaunt, Sidney Ellwood and the rest of their classmates, safely ensconced in an idyllic boarding school in the English countryside. At seventeen, they're too young to enlist, and anyway, Gaunt is fighting his own private battle - an all-consuming infatuation with his best friend, the dreamy, poetic Ellwood - not having a clue that Ellwood is in love with him, always has been. When Gaunt's German mother asks him to enlist in the British army to protect the family from anti-German attacks, he signs up immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelm... continue
25.
In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust EN
Description:
The first installment of the French author's multivolume autobiographical novel, originally published in 1913, in which he recalls his childhood and first infatuation.
26.
In the Company of Men by Veronique Tadjo EN
Description:
WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE Harper’s Bazaar: Best Book of the Year Boston Globe: Best Book of the Year Ms. Magazine: Best Feminist Book of the Year Words Without Borders: Best Translated Book of the Year Drawing on real accounts of the Ebola outbreak that devastated West Africa, this poignant, timely fable reflects on both the strength and the fragility of life and humanity’s place in the world. Two boys venture from their village to hunt in a nearby forest, where they shoot down bats with glee, and cook their prey over an open fire. Within a month, they are dead, bodies ravaged... continue
27.
Inseparable : A Never-Before-Published Novel by Simone de Beauvoir EN
Description:
A never-before-published novel by the iconic Simone de Beauvoir of an intense and vivid girlhood friendship From the moment Sylvie and Andrée meet in their Parisian day school, they see in each other an accomplice with whom to confront the mysteries of girlhood. For the next ten years, the two are the closest of friends and confidantes as they explore life in a post-World War One France, and as Andrée becomes increasingly reckless and rebellious, edging closer to peril. Sylvie, insightful and observant, sees a France of clashing ideals and religious hypocrisy--and at an early age is determined... continue
28.
Iphigenia : (The Diary of a Young Lady who Wrote Because She was Bored) by Teresa de la Parra EN
Description:
The story of Maria Eugenia Alonso, a girl brought up in France and forced to return to Venezuela when her father dies. Having had her inheritance stolen by an uncle, the family puts her up for marriage. Written in 1924.
29.
Island of Shattered Dreams by Chantal T. Spitz EN
Description:
Island of Shattered Dreams is the first ever novel by an indigenous Tahitian writer. In a lyrical and immensely moving style, this book combines a family saga and a doomed love story, set against the background of French Polynesia in the period leading up to the first nuclear tests. The text is highly critical of the French government, and as a result its publication in Tahiti was polarising.
30.
L'étrangère by Valérie Toranian FR
Description:
"Elle tricote. Je sors mon carnet. - Raconte-moi précisément ce qui s'est passé dans les convois... - Plus tard... Je rêve de recueillir cette histoire qui est aussi la mienne et elle s'y oppose comme une gamine butée. - Quand plus tard ? - Quand tu auras eu ton bébé". Aravni garde farouchement le silence sur son passé. Sa petite-fille, Valérie, aimerait pourtant qu'elle lui raconte son histoire, l'Arménie, Alep, Constantinople et Marseille. Dans ce récit qui traverse le siècle, elle écrit le roman de la vie, ou plutôt des vies d'Aravni : de la toute jeune fille fuyant le génocide arménien en ... continue