Historical fiction books from France
Recommended historical fiction books (40)
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.
1.
All Men Want to Know by Nina Bouraoui EN
Description:
'Intense, gorgeous, troubling, seductive - a novel that has to be surrendered to rather than read' Sarah Waters AN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF AN ENGLISH PEN TRANSLATES AWARD All Men Want to Know traces Nina Bouraoui's blissful childhood in Algeria, a wild, sun-soaked paradise, with hazy summer afternoons spent swimming, diving, and driving across the desert. Her mother is French, her father Algerian; when racial tensions begin to surface in their neighbourhood, her mother suffers an unspeakable act of violence that forces the family to flee the country. In Paris, eighteen-year-old Nina... continue
2.
At Night All Blood Is Black : A Novel by David Diop EN
Description:
Selected by students across France to win the the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens, David Diop’s English-language, historical fiction debut At Night All Blood is Black is a “powerful, hypnotic, and dark novel” (Livres Hebdo) of terror and transformation in the trenches of the First World War. Alfa Ndiaye is a Senegalese man who, never before having left his village, finds himself fighting as a so-called “Chocolat” soldier with the French army during World War I. When his friend Mademba Diop, in the same regiment, is seriously injured in battle, Diop begs Alfa to kill him and spare him the pain of a l... continue
4.
Beneath the Pyramid by Christian Jacq EN
Description:
The first in a new trilogy by Christian Jacq, BENEATH THE PYRAMID is a gripping novel of suspense which takes place during the reign of Ramses the Great. A young, intelligent, incorruptible novice judge, Pazair, is called to Memphis to investigate the mysterious deaths of five guards standing watch over the sphinx at Giza. His inquiries unearth a plot to overthrow Ramses, and with the help of Souti, a former scribe, and the beautiful Nefertet, a young doctor, he sets out to discover the truth.
5.
Beyond the Door or No Return by David Diop EN
Description:
FINALIST FOR THE 2023 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR TRANSLATED FICTION 'Stunningly realized... A spellbinding novel' MAAZA MENGISTE, Booker Prize–shortlisted author of The Shadow King 'Diop has opened a new way of thinking about the eighteenth century and its hideous cruelties' ABDULRAZAK GURNAH, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 'A compelling romantic adventure... Through an act of remembrance, Diop seeks to build a repository of lives and histories lost to the slave trade' FINANCIAL TIMES __________ The captivating new novel from David Diop, winner of the International Booker Prize Paris, 18... continue
6.
Civilisations by Laurent Binet EN
Description:
It's world history. But not as we know it. c.1000AD: Erik the Red's daughter heads south from Greenland 1492: Columbus does not discover America 1531: the Incas invade Europe Freydis is the leader of a band of Viking warriors who get as far as Panama. Nobody knows what became of them. Five hundred years later, Christopher Columbus is sailing for the Americas, dreaming of gold and conquest. Even when captured, his faith in his mission is unshaken. Thirty years after that, Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, arrives in a Europe ready for revolution. Fortunately, he has a recent guidebook to acquir... continue
10.
Description:
Focuses on the Paris taverns, presenting a tragedy of working-class people in slums. The work was influenced by theories of heredity/experimental science. The behaviour of the families is shown to be conditioned by environment/inherited characteristics, chiefly drunkenness and mental instability.