French Classics 101

Explore the timeless beauty of French literature with our curated list of classic French books. Discover masterpieces by Victor Hugo, Flaubert, and more to dive into France's rich literary heritage.

The Complete Essays Cover
Book

The Complete Essays

by Michel de Montaigne

In 1572 Montaigne retired to his estates in order to devote himself to leisure, reading and reflection. There he wrote his constantly expanding 'essays', inspired by the ideas he found in books from his library and his own experience. He discusses subjects as diverse as war-horses and cannibals, poetry and politics, sex and religion, love and friendship, ecstasy and experience. Above all, Montaigne studied himself to find his own inner nature and that of humanity. The Essays are among the most idiosyncratic and personal works in all literature. An insight into a wise Renaissance mind, they continue to engage, enlighten and entertain modern readers.
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Candide, or, Optimism Cover
Book

Candide, or, Optimism

 

No summary available.
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The confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Cover
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The confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

 

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Adolphe Cover
Book

Adolphe

by Benjamin Constant

Adolphe is a privileged and refined young man, bored by the stupidity he perceives in the world around him. After a number of meaningless conquests, he at last encounters Ellenore, a beautiful and passionate older woman. Adolphe is enraptured and gradually wears down her resistance to his declarations of love. But as they embark on an intense and tortured affair, Ellenore gives way to a flood of emotion that only serves to repel her younger lover - yet he cannot bring himself to leave her and his procrastination can only bring tragedy. Partly inspired by Constant's own stormy affair with Madame de Staël, Adolphe (1816) is a penetrating psychological depiction of love that plumbs the depths of the passions, motives and inconsistencies of the human character.
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Selected writings Cover
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Selected writings

 

No summary available.
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