The Greatest French Family Books of All Time

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 488 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
3 In Search of Lost Time Marcel Proust 1913 French French
138 The Charterhouse of Parma Stendhal 1839 French French
195 Bonjour Tristesse Francoise Sagan 1954 French French
223 The Counterfeiters André Gide 1925 French French
264 The Lover Marguerite Duras 1984 French French
323 Father Goriot Honoré de Balzac 1835 French French
382 Germinal Émile Zola 1885 French French
469 The Human Comedy Honoré de Balzac 1830 French French
577 Cousin Bette Honoré de Balzac 1846 French French
616 Words Jean Paul Sartre 1963 French French
661 Death on Credit Louis-Ferdinand Céline 1936 French French
671 Night Elie Wiesel 1958 French French
713 Drunkard Émile Zola 1877 French Unknown
724 Eugenie Grandet Honoré de Balzac 1833 French French
814 Jean Christophe Romain Rolland 1904 French French
834 Claudine Colette 1900 French French
870 Zazie in the Metro Raymond Queneau 1959 French French
946 The Elementary Particles Michel Houellebecq 1998 French French
951 The Years Annie Ernaux 2008 French French
1037 The Sea Wall Marguerite Duras 1950 French French
1165 Suicide Emile Durkheim 1897 French French
1189 Tartuffe Molière 1664 French French
1196 Thérèse Desqueyroux François Mauriac 1927 French French
1282 Antigone Jean Anouilh 1944 French French
1370 The Wandering Jew Eugène Sue 1844 French French
1407 Julie, or the New Heloise Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1761 French French
1419 Strait is the Gate André Gide 1909 French French
1426 Viper’s Tangle François Mauriac 1932 French French
1508 A Woman's Life Guy de Maupassant 1883 French French
1560 The Works of Moliere Molière 1666 French French
1583 Childhood Nathalie Sarraute 1983 French French
1672 The Devil's Pool George Sand 1846 French French
1679 Pierre et Jean Guy de Maupassant 1888 French French
1838 Mangeclous Albert Cohen 1938 French French
1876 The Last Of The Just André Schwarz-Bart 1959 French French
1984 Nobody's Boy Hector Malot 1878 French French
1997 Days In The Caucasus Banine 1945 French French
2026 Manon des sources Marcel Pagnol 1963 French French
2098 Plays Pierre Corneille 1641 French French
2161 Segu Maryse Condé 1984 French French
2244 Climbié Bernard Dadié 1956 French French
2289 Lettres de madame de Sévigné Marie de Rabutin-Chantal marquise de Sévigné 1671 French French
2292 Suite Française Irène Némirovsky 2004 French French
2356 The Place Of The Star Patrick Modiano 1968 French French
2372 Histoire de Babar Jean de Brunhoff 1931 French French
2439 Soundjata Ou L'épopée Mandingue Djibril Tamsir Niane 1960 French French
2562 Three plays Paul Claudel 1912 French French
2623 The Ice People René Barjavel 1968 French French
2658 Little Nicholas Rene Goscinny 1959 French French
2683 Phèdre Jean Racine 1677 French French
2702 In Search Of The Castaways Jules Verne 1867 French French
2772 My Father's Glory Marcel Pagnol 1957 French French
2786 A Man's Place Annie Ernaux 1983 French French
2798 The Adversary Emmanuel Carrère 2000 French French
2842 No Kiss For Mother Tomi Ungerer 1973 French English
3399 The Scortas' Sun Laurent Gaudé 2004 French French
3411 The First Man Albert Camus 1994 French French
3426 Le Jeune Homme De Sable Williams Sassine 1979 French French
3493 My Mother's House And Sido Colette 1922 French French
3560 The Bridge Of Beyond Simone Schwarz-Bart 1972 French French
3844 Le Lion Joseph Kessel 1958 French French
3861 Sophie's Misfortunes Countess of Ségur. 1858 French French
3864 The Accursed Kings Series Maurice Druon 1955 French French
3915 The Earth Émile Zola 1887 French French
4174 From A Chinese City Gontran de Poncins 1957 French English
4268 Cordelia And Other Stories Françoise Mallet-Joris 1958 French French
4314 For Those I Loved Martin Gray 1971 French French
4533 The Peasants Of Languedoc Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie 1966 French French
4654 The Perfect Nanny Leïla Slimani 2016 French French
4896 The Tendrils of the Vine Colette 1908 French Unknown
4969 A Family Record Patrick Modiano 1977 French French
5210 Lives Other Than My Own Emmanuel Carrère 2009 French French
5237 The Imaginary Invalid Molière 1673 French French
5323 Viper In The Fist Hervé Bazin 1948 French French
5352 Madame Curie - A Biography by Eve Curie Eve Curie 1937 French French
5486 My Mother's Castle Marcel Pagnol 1957 French French
5563 The Thibaults Roger Martin du Gard 1922 French French
5656 Cleaned Out Annie Ernaux 1974 French French
5656 Dear Departed Marguerite Yourcenar 1974 French French
5816 The Kindly Ones Jonathan Littell 2006 French French
5995 Scorched Wajdi Mouawad 2003 French French
5996 Le Cid Pierre Corneille 1637 French French
6038 A Bag Of Marbles Joseph Joffo 1973 French French
6300 L'acacia Claude Simon 1989 French French
6509 Firelight and Woodsmoke Claude Michelet 1979 French French
6549 La Famille Boussardel Philippe Heriat 1944 French French
6549 The Little Misery François Mauriac 1951 French French
6804 The Planetarium Nathalie Sarraute 1959 French French
6836 The Ghost Riders Of Ordebec Fred Vargas 2011 French French
6893 Un Attieké Pour Elgass Tierno Monenembo 2021 French French
6947 Heartsnatcher Boris Vian 1953 French French
7052 The Miser Molière 1668 French French
7075 Ladivine Marie NDiaye 2013 French French
7100 Cockroaches Scholastique Mukasonga 2006 French French
7190 The Vatican Cellars André Gide 1914 French French
7126 Renoir, My Father Jean Renoir 1962 French French
7365 Ninety Three Victor Hugo 1874 French French
7374 The Lily Of The Valley Honoré de Balzac 1835 French French
7375 Book Of My Mother Albert Cohen 1954 French French
7453 The Art Of Losing Alice Zeniter 2017 French French
7463 L'huile Sur Le Feu Hervé Bazin 1954 French French
7470 Little Fadette George Sand 1849 French French
7474 Queen Margot Alexandre Dumas 1845 French French
7484 Nothing Holds Back The Night Delphine de Vigan 2011 French French
7505 The Song Of The World Jean Giono 1934 French French
7710 Them Francine du Plessix Gray 2005 French English
7860 Hotel Splendid Marie Redonnet 1986 French French
8277 René François-Auguste-René de Chateaubriand 1802 French French
8467 My Father's Life (Continental Classics) Restif de La Bretonne 1779 French French
8590 Paul And Virginie Bernardin de Saint-Pierre 1788 French French
8721 Autobiographie De Mon Pere Pierre Pachet 1997 French French
8892 I Am Fifteen--and I Don't Want To Die Arnothy Christine 1955 French French
9089 Incest Christine Angot 1999 French French
9199 Echine Philippe Djian 1982 French French
10847 The Lovers Alice Ferney 1993 French French
10902 Epileptic David B 1996 French French
10929 Small Country Gaël Faye 2016 French French
10967 Mr. Ibrahim And The Flowers Of The Koran Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt 2001 French French
11098 The Sermon On The Fall Of Rome Jerome Ferrari 2012 French French
11217 The End Of Eddy Édouard Louis 2014 French French