Read around the world with the best books set in France. Satisfy your wanderlust by exploring these beautiful books about France.
With the arrival of the Paris Olympics, I couldn’t help but remember my visit to Paris, France, about five years ago.
Over the years, I’ve read plenty of books about France and some of my favorite classic books are set in Paris. Plus, I’ve seen dozens of movies that take place in the City of Lights. Part of me worried that the city could never live up to my expectations.
Instead, Paris exceeded anything I could have imagined. It was the perfect location for my first trip abroad. Every street was gorgeous, the food was delicious, and the entire atmosphere was electric.
If you ever have the chance, I wholeheartedly encourage you to visit Paris. And someday maybe I’ll be able to visit more of the beautiful country. Until then, I guess we’ll just have to satisfy our wanderlust with some of the best books about France.
From heartbreaking World War II books set in France to modern thriller books set in Paris, explore France through literature in what is my first in a new Read Around the World series of book lists.
Famous Classic Books About France
Les Misérables
Victor Hugo
The most famous of all the books about France, Les Misérables is one of the most beloved stories ever told. Victor Hugo’s tale of Jean Valjean – the peasant convicted for stealing a loaf of bread – will leave you breathless. From the example of forgiveness of the priest to the unrelenting determination of Inspector Javert, the story has so many outstanding themes to learn from. Yes, the musical is fantastic, but if you have a chance, be sure to pick up the original book. While it might drag in some spots, overall, the story is simply unforgettable.
The Count of Monte Cristo
Alexandre Dumas
If you haven’t read this amazing classic book set in France yet, you are truly missing out. Dumas’ epic tale of revenge will keep you entertained through all of its 1,000+ pages. Wrongfully imprisoned for years, Edmond Dantes successfully escapes a brutal French prison and sets out to get the ultimate revenge on all those who have wronged him.
The Three Musketeers
Alexandre Dumas
“All for one, one for all!” cried the Three Musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. The young protagonist, Comte d’Artagnan, is determined to find glory for himself and win the hand of his lady love. As he joins the musketeers and befriends the famous three, adventure, intrigue and a whole lot of swashbuckling swordplay await in this fun classic book about friendship.
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” So begins Charles Dickens’ novel set amid the violence of the French Revolution. With wonderful characters and a gripping story, this classic tale, one of the must-read books of the French Revolution, reminds you that violence only begets violence and that it is never too late to find redemption.
The Phantom of the Opera
Gaston Leroux
Best known as the inspiration for the famous musical adaptation, Gaston Leroux’s Gothic novel transports you to the Paris Opera House in 1880, where a phantom is rumored to haunt the opera. When the star soprano is ill, her understudy Christine Daaé sings to lavish applause. Now the phantom is demanding Christine be cast as the lead, and mysterious accidents keep occurring to force the new owners to bow to his demands.
WWII Books Set in France
All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr
If I had to pick a winner for the best WWII book, Anthony Doer’s masterpiece would be my first choice. I’m not at all surprised it won a Pulitzer Prize; the writing is fabulous. Anthony Doerr masterfully interweaves the stories of Marie-Laurie, a blind French girl who flees from Paris to the coastal city of Saint-Malo with her uncle, and Werner, a German radio operator charged with rooting out the French resistance. While the plot is interesting in and of itself, the character development and storytelling will keep you glued to the page.
The Nightingale
Kristin Hannah
Set in a small village in occupied France, the story centers around two sisters. Forced to house a German officer in her home, the older sister Vianne Mauriac must decide, to protect her daughter, where exactly she should draw the line of being complicit with German demands. On the other hand, her younger sister Isabelle Rossignol feels committed to doing anything she can to resist the German occupation.
Code Name Hélène
Ariel Lawhon
At the top of my list of books about France is Ariel Lawhon’s amazing World War II novel. Nancy Wake, a New Zealander living in Paris, becomes a spy for the British and rises to one of the top leaders of the French Resistance and one of the most decorated women of the war. The story is split into two narratives – the first starting with Nancy parachuting into France in 1944 and the second telling of her courtship with her husband, Henri Fiocca, before the war. You’ll fall in love with Henri and cheer on Nancy as she transforms into a fierce fighter and respected commander. As the earlier timeline catches up with the later one, you’ll feel all the emotions of a woman caught up in a terrible war.
The Book of Lost Names
Kristin Harmel
As a graduate student in 1942, Eva fled Paris after her father, a Polish Jew, was arrested. Settling in a mountain town in the Free Zone, she begins forging identities for Jewish children with the help of a Catholic priest and a handsome forger named Rémy. Falling in love with Rémy, she finds a way to record the children’s real names, and decades later, must come to terms with the betrayal of her resistance cell.
Sarah’s Key
Tatiana de Rosnay
A decision made in an instant can change the course of so many lives. Just before Sarah and her family are arrested by the Germans in Paris in 1942, Sarah locks her little brother in a cupboard, assuming she will be back soon. Now 60 years later, as journalist Julia Jarmond investigates the past, she learns volumes not only about that fatal day in history but also about herself. A classic among WWII books set in France which is a perfectly heartbreaking story about the Holocaust.
WWI Novels Set in France
Birdsong
Sebastian Faulks
In one of the most classic WW1 books set in France, Sebastian Faulks highlights the trauma of WWI veterans. Young English soldier Stephen Wraysford finds himself on the front lines in France, caught in a wild love affair with Isabelle Azaire. Yet, it’s the world of the trenches in the Battle of Amiens that ultimately ends the war but also forever changes Stephen. Later, in 1970, Stephen’s granddaughter Elizabeth tries to understand his war experiences.
The Alice Network
Kate Quinn
In 1915, Eve Gardiner is overjoyed to join the Alice Network of the French Resistance during WWI, only to see it betrayed. Then, in 1947, Eve agrees to help Charlie St. Clair, an American socialite desperate to find her cousin, Rose. Rose disappeared in France during the Second World War, and Eve sees the shadows of her past in this new case. Combining both the major world wars, The Alice Network is quite a find for historical fiction readers.
Band of Sisters
Lauren Willig
In April 1917, a charismatic alumna gives an impassioned speech at Smith College urging the women to go to France to help with relief efforts. Kate Moran has no plans to go, but when a girl drops out, Kate’s best friend Emmeline begs her to fill the slot. Based on a true story, Band of Sisters tells of these brave women coping with the hardships of the war while navigating old rivalries and betrayals.
The Porcelain Moon
Janie Chang
At the end of the First World War, Pauline Deng runs away from her Chinese family in Paris to escape an arranged marriage back in Shanghai. In the French countryside, Pauline finds shelter with Camille, a French woman planning to escape her own abusive marriage. Until Pauline finds out a terrible secret about Camille, forcing them to make a decision that will bind them together forever.
Thriller Books in France
The Day of the Jackal
Frederick Forsyth
On August 22, 1962, a French paramilitary group angered by the liberation of Algeria attempted to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle. Forsyth takes this extraordinary true event and runs with it, creating a British assassin only known as The Jackal. Hired to kill the French President, the Jackal makes extensive preparations. But his failed attempt sparks an intense manhunt in this thrilling spy novel.
One by One
Ruth Ware
At an exclusive French ski resort, the shareholders for the up-and-coming social media company Snoop must decide on an offer of a billion-dollar sale. One person doesn’t make it back to the lodge after skiing, and things go from bad to worse when an avalanche hits threatening them all. Would someone be willing to resort to murder to get their way? Among the best thriller books set in France, Ruth Ware’s latest is the perfect thriller to read right now.
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown
While vacationing in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is brought in to aid the investigation of the murder of a curator at the Louvre. Besides the body is a hidden cipher which Langdon is shocked to discover leads to a series of clues hidden in Da Vinci’s works. With the help of cryptologist Sophie Noveau, Langdon races around the world to solve one of the world’s oldest mysteries.
The Safe Place
Anna Downes
Broke and recently fired, Emily has hit rock bottom. Until she lands the perfect job as a housekeeper for a wealthy couple on a remote French estate. But is this offer too good to be true? Luckily, the rather flighty protagonist comes into her own as the novel progresses or this novel would have been really hard to read. Right away, you know something is off about this family, but Downes does a good job keeping you guessing what the big reveal will be.
Casino Royale
Ian Fleming
In 1953, Ian Fleming introduced the world to his infamous British secret agent, James Bond. Codenamed 007, Bond is sent to France to play in a high-stakes baccarat game against Le Chiffre, a villainous financier. Partnered with the beautiful and smart Vesper Lynd, the stakes are high for Bond, for Vesper has her own dark secret.
Timeline
Michael Crichton
In France, an archaeology professor leads a group of graduate students researching two fourteenth-century towns. When Professor Johnston flies back to America to handle their shady sponsors, the students begin to unearth his modern-day possessions buried in the ruins at the dig site. Quickly they are whisked away to a secret site and told that they must travel back to the time of knights if they are to save their professor.
The Perfect Nanny
Leila Slimani
French-Moroccan lawyer Miriam has finally decided to return to work after having children. Looking for help, Miriam and her husband hire Louise to take care of the children in their upscale Parisian apartment. Louise is the perfect nanny: always willing to stay late and do anything to help the parents. Yet, as Miriam becomes more and more dependent on Louise, cracks begin to form in the family and the perfect nanny may turn out to be their worst nightmare.
Historical Fiction Books on France
The Paris Wife
Paula McLain
In 1920, Hadley Richardson had accepted her future life as a spinster when she meets Ernest Hemingway. After a whirlwind courtship and marriage, the Hemingways move to Paris, where they become ensconced in a group of ex-pat writers. The years of fast and hard living begin to wear on the Hemingways leading to a crisis in their marriage.
Jacqueline in Paris
Ann Mah
The coming of age story of First Lady Jackie Kennedy, who spent a year studying abroad in Paris in 1949. Knowing her family’s precarious finances, Jacqueline Bouvier knows she will be expected to marry well after graduating college. But for this one year in Paris, Jacqueline can just be herself as she falls in love with a writer … and with the city itself.
The Paris Hours
Alex George
Over the course of a single day in 1927, four ordinary people in Paris have their lives intertwine in surprising ways. Between a former maid of Marcel Proust, a puppeteer, a journalist and an artist who meets Gertrude Stein, a rich tale of love emerges in the City of Lights. With cameos from famous artists of the time, The Paris Hours aims to envelop you in the pre-war Paris art scene.
Paris
Edward Rutherford
If historical fiction books about French history intrigue you, you can’t go wrong with Rutherford’s epic tale. A multigenerational tale, Paris takes you through four families intimately connected to the history of the City of Light. Jumping from past to present, Rutherford excels at showing how history affects current events, diving deep into the history of the city while showcasing the lives of everyday citizens living there.
The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard
Natasha Lester
Natasha Lester takes on French fashion with a story about three generations of Bricard women hoping to make a name for themselves. In the present day, Blythe Bricard has turned away from her family’s legacy as fashion muses only to discover there is more to her mother and grandmother than she realized. In 1970, designer Astrid Bricard struggles to be seen as more than a muse for her lover. Decades earlier, in 1917, orphan Mizza Bricard puts everything on the line to establish a couture design house of her own.
Josephine Baker’s Last Dance
Sherry Jones
All the history books about the 1920s probably include a picture of Josephine Baker dancing in Paris in her famous banana skirt. Sherry Jones’s novel chronicles the fascinating history of a woman who became an icon of the Jazz Age. From her childhood poverty in America and her breakout career in Paris to her work with the French Resistance in WWII and her efforts as a Civil Rights activist, Josephine Baker’s Last Dance is a great insight into the life of the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture.
Paris Books
The Little Paris Bookshop
Nina George
With his floating bookstore on the Seine, Monsieur Perdu prescribes books to heal readers through literature. Yet Perdu has never been able to get over his one true love who left him with only a letter, which he has never opened. Now ready to discover the truth and heal his broken heart, Perdu sets off to the south of France. With an author and an Italian chef in tow, the three travel the country’s rivers and dispensing literature along the way in this charming novel set in France.
The Paris Apartment
Lucy Foley
Looking for a fresh start, Jess moves into her half-brother’s Paris apartment only to find him missing. The longer Ben stays gone, the more Jess begins to question his living situation. Jess can tell the neighbors know more than they are telling, making each one a viable suspect.
The Paris Widow
Kimberly Belle
Stella doesn’t mind leaving her jetsetter life as a flight attendant behind when she marries Adam, a nice normal guy. While vacationing in Paris, Adam goes missing after a bomb explodes in a public square. Now the police are telling Stella that Adam is a known dealer of stolen antiquities. Refusing to leave Paris until she learns the truth, Stella must discover if Adam was a random victim or a target of the explosion.
Giovanni’s Room
James Baldwin
After proposing to his girlfriend, American expat David finds himself alone in Paris struggling between his desires and conventional morality. Befriending Guillaume, an older gentleman who owns a Parisian gay bar, David falls in love with the bar’s bartender, Giovanni. As David wrestles with his sexual identity, his girlfriend returns to France forcing him to make a choice.
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
Paul Gallico
In Paul Gallico’s classic, a humble London charlady cleaning the houses of the rich stumbles upon an elegant Dior dress. Captivated by its beauty, Mrs. Harris scrimps and saves until she can afford a trip to Paris, not realizing how it will transform her life.
The Paris Library
Janet Skeslien Charles
Life is good for Odile Souchet, a young woman with a handsome beau working at the American Library in Paris. When the Germans invade Paris, Odile and her fellow librarians join the Resistance to fight the Nazis with what they have – books. Based on a true story, The Paris Library is the perfect choice for anyone looking for delicious Paris books.
Young Adult Books About Paris
Anna and the French Kiss
Stephanie Perkins
Anna is excited for her senior year until her friends ship her off from Georgia to attend a French boarding school. Soon Anna falls head-over-heels with the gorgeous Étienne St. Clair. Unfortunately, Étienne already has a serious girlfriend. But after a year of near-miss romantic encounters, will Anna finally get her longed-for French kiss?
Just One Day
Gayle Forman
Have you ever made a snap decision that changed your life? In typical Young Adult fiction manner, Allyson, your average American teenager, meets a handsome Dutch boy Willem De Ruiter while visiting England. Sparks fly and in the spur of the moment, she is whisked away to Paris to spend one perfect day with him. Yet it’s Allyson’s journey after her perfect day that makes Just One Day one of the perfect books to read in France for any hopeless romantics out there.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Brian Selznick
Orphaned Hugo lives in a Paris train station, keeping the clocks and stealing food to survive. When the toymaker catches him stealing, Hugo becomes intertwined with the grumpy man and his lively goddaughter and finds his deepest secret is in danger. A quick children’s read that is beautifully illustrated, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a perfect choice for a read-aloud.
Nonfiction Books About France
My Life in France
Julia Child
Before she became famous for her cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and her cooking show The French Chef, Julia Child was an unknown diplomat’s wife. Moving to France in 1948 with her husband Paul, Child didn’t even speak English. Taking cooking classes at the Cordon Bleu, Child found a newfound passion that would, after many rejections, lead her to become a household name.
A Woman of No Importance
Sonia Purnell
Sonia Purnell provides a powerful look at one of the greatest spies of World War II. Rejected from foreign service because she was a woman with a prosthetic leg, Virginia Hall went over to England and became the first woman deployed to occupied France. Known as the “Madonna of the Resistance,” Hall coordinated major resistance activities in France and became the most-wanted spy in Europe.
When the Sea Came Alive
Garrett M. Graff
Garrett M. Graff, author of The Only Plane in the Sky, presents an oral history of D-Day. On June 6, 1944, Allied troops landed on the beaches of France in a month-long campaign that changed the tide of World War II. Graff explores the full story of D-Day, from the secret creation of plans to the moments the doors opened on the beaches.
Story of a Soul
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Known as The Little Flower of Jesus, Thérèse of Lisieux joined a cloistered Carmelite community as a nun at the age of fifteen and served faithfully until her death at age 24. One of the most popular saints in the Catholic church, St. Thérèse’s memoir has brought spiritual comfort to millions of Catholics. In a series of two memoirs and a letter, St. Thérèse describes her spiritual life and ponders how someone can ascend to Heaven, not through grand heroic acts but through little ways and small acts of love.
The Last Duel
Eric Jager
In 1386, a huge crowd gathers to watch “the duel to end all duels” – a no-holds-barred fight between two Medieval knights. The true story focuses on Jean de Carrouges, a Norman knight who returns from battle to his wife’s accusation that his best friend Jacques LeGris has raped her. King Charles VI’s court calls for a “trial by combat” where innocence will be determined by a duel between the two knights.
More Classic Books Set in France
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Victor Hugo
In an extraordinary French gothic novel, Victor Hugo turned Notre Dame Cathedral into a beloved landmark and sparked heightened interest in its preservation. The Hunchback of Notre Dame tells the story of Quasimodo, a disabled bell-ringer at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. Quasimodo, his cruel guardian Archdeacon Frollo, and many other men all fall obsessively in love with Esmeralda, a young Romani dancer, triggering a fight to possess her.
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Baroness Orczy
At the start of the French Revolution, one man, known only as The Scarlet Pimpernel, risks it all to save innocent men, women, and children from the Guillotine. Stuck in an estranged marriage to a dull British aristocrat, Marguerite is entranced by the Pimpernel’s daring deeds. Yet, when her brother is threatened, she agrees to help a ruthless French agent discover the Pimpernel’s true identity.
Germinal
Émile Zola
The thirteenth novel in his Rougon-Macquart series, Germinal is French novelist Émile Zola’s most famous work. Unemployed railway worker Etienne Lantier is forced to take a back-breaking job at Le Voreux mine. Under the cruel conditions, Etienne quickly realizes that this is no way for his fellow mine workers to live. Thus, Etienne leads a dangerous strike that will either save the workers or completely destroy them.
Tender is the Night
F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s last novel, Tender is the Night highlights the end of the Jazz Age. In the French Riveria, 17-year-old actress Rosemary Hoty becomes infatuated with the glamorous couple, Dick and Nicole Diver. Both husband and psychiatrist to Nicole, Dick’s world completely transforms under Nicole’s astounding wealth. Yet, the couple eventually falls into alcoholism and mental illness, mirroring Fitzgerald’s own life.
What Are Your Favorite Books Set in France?
What do you think? Does this list of Books About France make you want to visit someday? As always, let me know in the comments!
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Marijana says
You missed a VERY good read that’s also set in Paris and instantly became one of my favorite books, if not the favorite – The keeper of happy endings by Barbara Davis.