France

A carriage transporting ten passengers fleeing from Rouen is stopped at a village inn by Prussian soldiers, who decide to detain them until one of their party, the prostitute Boule de Suif, consents to sleep with their officer. When Boule de Suif refuses to...

When the Basque dragoon Don José meets a Gypsy woman at the factory he is guarding, he is immediately ensnared by her wiles. After she is arrested for injuring a co-worker and he helps her to flee, he is imprisoned and demoted, but she...

In contrast with the epic scope of the Rougon-Macquart novels, Zola's short stories are concerned with the everyday aspects of human existence and the interests of ordinary people. From the cruel irony of 'Captain Burle' to the Rabelaisian exuberance of 'Coqueville on the Spree',...

When the immoral libertine Monsieur de Franval marries and fathers a daughter, he decides to inculcate in her a sense of absolute freedom, an unconventional education that involves the two becoming secret lovers. But Franval's virtuous, God-fearing wife becomes suspicious and confronts him, setting...

This 1856 novella from the master of fantasy and the supernatural is a brilliant and witty examination of man's innermost fantasies and fears.When Paul d'Aspremont travels to Naples to join Alicia Ward, his beautiful fiancé, he is surprised to see her grow pale under...

In Maylis de Kerangal’s Painting Time, we are introduced to the burgeoning young artist Paula Karst, who is enrolled at the famous Institut de Peinture in Brussels. Unlike the friends she makes at school, Paula strives to understand the specifics of what she’s painting—replicating...

When the young and sensitive Auguste Saint-Clair notices an Etruscan vase on the mantelpiece of his beloved Mathilde, he becomes gradually consumed by jealousy at the thought that it could be the gift of another man, and the situation escalates dramatically as he demands...

Deeply shocking in its time, The Last Day of a Condemned Man is a profound and moving tale and a vital work of social commentary. A man vilified by society and condemned to death for his crime wakes every morning knowing that this day...

When Daphne arrives in Berlin, the last thing she expects is to run into more drama than she left behind. Of course, she knew she'd need to do the usual: make friends, acquire lovers, grapple with German and a whole new way of life....

Hélène is approaching forty. Born in a small town in the east of France, she worked hard to leave it behind and achieve a life worthy of the glossy magazines she pored over as a teen. But now that she seemingly has it all—a...

Handsome, ambitious Julien Sorel is determined to rise above his humble provincial origins. Soon realizing that success can only be achieved by adopting the subtle code of hypocrisy by which society operates, he begins to achieve advancement through deceit and self-interest. His triumphant career...

These three long stories draw us into the lives of three women, all past their first youth, all facing unexpected crises. In the title story, the heroine's serenity is shattered when she learns that her husband is having an affair. In "The Age of...

A man tells a woman that they have met before – that they became lovers but then agreed to separate for a year. The year is now up, and he has come back for her. At first, she remembers nothing, but as he relates...

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:...

With the intrigue of a psychological thriller, The Stranger—Camus's masterpiece—gives us the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach. With an Introduction by Peter Dunwoodie; translated by Matthew Ward. Behind the subterfuge, Camus explores what he termed...

Jean-Baptiste Clamence is a soul in turmoil. Over several drunken nights in an Amsterdam bar, he regales a chance acquaintance with his story. From this successful former lawyer and seemingly model citizen a compelling, self-loathing catalogue of guilt, hypocrisy and alienation pours forth.The Fall...

By one of the most profoundly influential thinkers of our century, The Rebel is a classic essay on revolution that resonates as an ardent, eloquent, and supremely rational voice of conscience for our tumultuous times.For Albert Camus, the urge to revolt is one of the...

In the sleepy Flemish town of Quiquendone, life moves at a glacial pace—arguments are rare, romances stretch on for decades, and excitement is virtually unknown. That is, until the enigmatic Dr. Ox arrives with a bold plan to modernize the town’s lighting system. But...

What happens when you're confined to a single room for six weeks? For Xavier de Maistre, a young French officer arrested after a duel in 1790, the answer was simple: he became a traveler in his own home. Dressed in his pink and blue...

These thirteen erotic short stories by the acclaimed author of Henry and June explore the nature of desire, taboo, and female sensuality. From the beach towns of Normandy to the streets of New Orleans, these thirteen vignettes introduce us to a covetous French painter,...

From influential feminist artist and essayist Anais Nin, Delta of Venus is one of the most important works of modern female erotica and "a joyous display of the erotic imagination" (The New York Times Book Review). In this story collection, Anais Nin pens a...

Paris, 2019. An apartment in Belleville. Following a miscarriage and a breakdown, Anna, a psychoanalyst, finds herself unable to return to work. Instead, she obsesses over a kitchen renovation and befriends a new neighbor―a younger woman called Clémentine who has just moved into the...

According to ancient Japanese protocol, foreigners deigning to approach the emperor did so only with fear and trembling. Terror and self-abasement conveyed respect. Amélie, our well-intentioned and eager young Western heroine, goes to Japan to spend a year working at the Yumimoto Corporation. Returning...

Since its initial publication in 1958, The Poetics of Space has been a muse to philosophers, architects, writers, psychologists, critics, and readers alike. The rare work of irresistibly inviting philosophy, Bachelard’s seminal work brims with quiet revelations and stirring, mysterious imagery. This lyrical journey...

Based on an 1895 disaster that went down in history when it was captured in a series of surreal, extraordinary photographs, The Paris Express is a propulsive novel set on a train packed with a fascinating cast of characters who hail from as close...

What if no one remembered you... but one person did? In 1714, in a quiet corner of France, a desperate young woman strikes a bargain with a dark god: she will live forever—but be remembered by no one. Not a friend. Not a lover....

At the turn of the 20th century, a young Rainer Maria Rilke arrived in Paris—drawn by the brilliance of Auguste Rodin and unsettled by the city’s contradictions. Over the years, Paris became both muse and mirror for Rilke, inspiring reflections on art, beauty, poverty,...

In this French bestseller, renowned philosopher Frédéric Gros explores the many forms walking can take—from pilgrimages and leisurely strolls to protest marches and nature walks—and what each reveals about the human condition. Gros reflects on how walking shaped the lives and minds of great...

What happens when the self splits—and meets itself face to face? In a quiet café near Paris’s Gare du Nord, literature professor Aline Berger is struggling to reread Orlando by Virginia Woolf when something strange happens: a part of her consciousness breaks away and...

In A Leopard-Skin Hat, Anne Serre crafts a quietly devastating portrait of friendship, grief, and the delicate ties that bind us to those we cannot save. At its center is the narrator’s lifelong bond with Fanny, a brilliant, unpredictable woman whose mind is a battleground...

When Brodie Moncur, a gifted young piano tuner, is offered the chance to work for a renowned pianist, he steps into a world far removed from his modest Scottish roots—a life of travel, refinement, and artistic brilliance. As he follows his employer on an...

Inspired by true events, The Rarest Fruit tells the remarkable story of resilience, curiosity, and the hidden origins of a flavor cherished around the world. Born enslaved, orphaned young, and raised by a devoted botanist on Réunion Island, Edmond Albius grows up with an...

In this sweeping tale of adventure, Alexandre Dumas weaves together suspense, intrigue, romance, revenge, and the ultimate triumph of justice—elements that have secured the novel’s enduring status as a literary classic. Set in post-Napoleonic France, the story follows Edmond Dantès, a promising young sailor...

This edition marks the first new English translation in over forty years of the Marquis de Sade’s Justine, as well as the first critical edition of the novel based on its original 1791 version — widely regarded as the most coherent, accessible, and artistically...

Francine Veyrenattes is twenty-five and already haunted by the sense that life is slipping past her. After a string of tragedies on her family’s farm, she drifts between crushing grief and numbing boredom, troubled by a growing detachment and an inability to move through...

A #1 New York Times bestseller, Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year, and soon to be a major motion picture, this unforgettable novel of love and strength in the face of war has enthralled a generation. With courage, grace, and powerful insight,...

How Modern Art Came to America. In 1939, Pablo Picasso was celebrated in Europe but widely rejected in America. Within a year, that changed dramatically. This is the story of how one groundbreaking exhibition transformed him into a cultural icon in the United States....

In modern-day Paris, a narrator and her two friends juggle missing cats, tangled relationships, and the intimidating challenge of writing about Gertrude Stein—an artist who reshaped literature and championed avant-garde thinking. Yet capturing Stein on the page proves nearly impossible. Her dazzling, unruly art,...

In A Girl’s Story, Annie Ernaux returns to a defining moment in her past. Fifty years earlier, during the summer of 1958, the eighteen-year-old Ernaux found herself overwhelmed by another person’s will and desire. She surrendered to a man who soon abandoned her, leaving...

In 1963, twenty-three-year-old Annie Ernaux discovers she is pregnant. Unmarried and alone, she is overwhelmed by shame and fear. In a society where such a pregnancy would mark both her and her family with social disgrace, she knows she cannot keep the child. Written...

Set across North Africa, Paris, and Brazil, the six stories in this remarkable collection explore themes of spiritual exile and humanity’s enduring search for a place of inner renewal. Told through a range of vividly drawn perspectives, the stories portray individuals struggling to reconcile...

A witty, irresistible classic about a young, beautiful American who arrives in Paris determined to experience life in all its messy, exhilarating fullness. The Dud Avocado traces the romantic misadventures and comic escapades of Sally Jay Gorce, a spirited young American who sets out...

A meditation on suicide. In this influential collection of essays, Nobel Prize–winning writer Albert Camus confronts one of philosophy’s most urgent questions: whether life is worth living in a universe that appears to lack order or meaning. Drawing inspiration from figures like Don Juan and...

In a small French town, a mediocre witch trapped in a cruel marriage passes her inherited powers to her twin daughters, Maud and Lise, who must decide whether to remain bound to their suffocating home or escape their father’s control. As part of a...

After years of absence, a man returns to reunite with his wife and young son, taking them to his remote childhood home in the forested mountains of rural France. At first, the wild landscape offers wonder and escape, especially for the young boy, who...

Arriving at a holiday villa in the hills above Nice, Joe is startled to find a young woman floating in the swimming pool. She is alive—and she claims to be Kitty Finch, a botanist whose unexpected presence unsettles the fragile balance of the family...

Painted by Gustav Klimt in Vienna in 1910, Portrait of a Lady has led a mysterious life of its own. Purchased by an anonymous collector in 1916 and retouched by Klimt the following year, the painting was stolen in 1997—only to resurface more than...

A spare, intimate account of desire and obsession, tracing the emotional and physical intensity of a two-year relationship between an unnamed woman and a married foreigner. As her passion consumes her life, ordinary events, people, and experiences become meaningful only in relation to the...

Now a New Major Motion Picture directed by Durga Chew-Bose and starring Lily McInerny, Chloë Sevigny, and Claes Bang Françoise Sagan’s Bonjour Tristesse, first published in 1954, is a bittersweet coming-of-age story set during a beautiful summer in France. Seventeen-year-old Cécile enjoys a carefree holiday...