The Greatest Books of All Time Set in France

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 '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
9356 The Family Idiot Jean Paul Sartre 1971 French French
9366 The Conspiracy Paul Nizan 1938 French French
9375 The Passions Charlotte Dacre 1811 British English
9375 Saint Leon William Godwin 1799 British English
9375 The Albigenses Charles Robert Maturin 1824 Irish English
9375 The Romance Of The Forest, Interspersed With Some Pieces Of Poetry Ann Radcliffe 1791 British English
9375 Clermont Regina Maria Roche 1798 Irish English
9375 Emmeline Charlotte Smith 1788 British English
9375 The Mystery Of Choice Robert W. Chambers 1897 American English
9375 The Spider Hanns Heinz Ewers 1908 German German
9375 The Lesson Of The Master And Other Stories Henry James 1892 American English
9375 Terminations And Other Stories Henry James 1895 American English
9375 Allouma And Other Tales Guy de Maupassant 1889 French French
9517 Memoirs Raymond Aron 1983 French French
9520 Astonish Me Maggie Shipstead 2014 American English
9523 The Order Of The Day Eric Vuillard 2017 French French
9531 Marie Antoinette Antonia Fraser 2001 British English
9537 Petit Robert Paul Robert 1967 French French
9567 Les Naufragés Patrick Declerck 2001 French French
9582 Edith Wharton R. W. B. Lewis 1975 American English
9595 The Naked Eye Yoko Tawada 2004 Multiple German
9633 The Collected Works of Paul Valéry Paul Valéry 1957 French French
9655 Rachel, Monique… Sophie Calle 2012 French French
9705 Black Skin, White Masks Frantz Fanon 1952 French French
9720 The Moon and the Sun Vonda N. McIntyre 1997 American English
9741 Reasons Of State Alejo Carpentier 1974 Cuban Spanish
9774 The Garden Of Eden Ernest Hemingway 1986 American English
9807 Journal Julie Delporte 2013 Unknown French
9818 The Way To Paradise Mario Vargas Llosa 2003 Peruvian Spanish
9821 Alex Pierre Lemaitre 2011 French French
9821 The Frozen Dead Bernard Minier 2011 French French
9833 Poems Of Pierre Reverdy Pierre Reverdy 1975 French French
9848 Entre Les Deux Il N’y A Rien Mathieu Riboulet 2006 French French
9854 The War Of The Buttons Louis Pergaud 1912 French French
9857 Mary Queen Of Scots Antonia Fraser 1969 British English
9882 The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue Mackenzi Lee 2017 American English
9883 The Wall Jean Paul Sartre 1939 French French
9884 Man And The Natural World Keith Thomas 1983 British English
9887 The Hour Of Our Death Philippe Ariès 1981 French French
9919 Hail And Farewell George Moore 1911 British English
9942 Joseph Marie-Hélène Lafon 2014 French French
9945 An Apartment On Uranus Paul B. Preciado 2019 Spanish French
9961 Varieties Of Exile Mavis Gallant 2003 Canadian English
9986 Ravel Jean Echenoz 2006 French French
10007 The Song Of The World Jean Giono 1934 French French
10002 Where Tigers Are At Home Jean-Marie Blas de Roblès 2008 French French
10018 Nine Continents Xiaolu Guo 2017 Chinese English
10044 Distinction Pierre Bourdieu 1979 French French
10048 Krieg Ludwig Renn 1928 German German
10061 Persepolis 1 & 2 — The Complete Persepolis Marjane Satrapi 2000 French French
10063 In The Café Of Lost Youth Patrick Modiano 2007 French French
10068 The Mirror & The Light Hilary Mantel 2020 British English
10075 Creation Lake Rachel Kushner 2024 American English
10087 The Ends Of The World Peter Brannen 2017 American English
10092 Twenty Years And A Day Jorge Semprún 2003 Spanish Spanish
10101 My Life As A Russian Novel Emmanuel Carrère 2007 French French
10132 Nora Nuala O’Connor 2021 Irish English
10176 The Kill Artist Daniel Silva 2000 American English
10195 Une Enfance De Reve Catherine Millet 2014 French French
10200 Monsieur, Or The Prince Of Darkness Lawrence Durrell 1974 British English
10213 Prisoner Of Love Jean Genet 1986 French French
10221 Doctor Pasavento Enrique Vila-Matas 2005 Spanish Spanish
10216 Her Majesty's Secret Service Christopher Andrew 1985 Unknown English
10241 A History of Philosophy Frederick Charles Copleston 1946 British English
10260 Solo Faces James Salter 1979 American English
10272 Juliette Camille Jourdy 2016 French French
10275 This Strange Eventful History Claire Messud 2024 Unknown English
10277 La Burla Del Tiempo Mauricio Electorat 2004 Chilean Spanish
10279 Birth Of A Bridge Maylis de Kerangal 2010 French French
10282 A Bag Of Marbles Joseph Joffo 1973 French French
10305 Cleaned Out Annie Ernaux 1974 French French
10305 Mimesis Erich Auerbach 1946 German German
10305 Feudal Society Marc Bloch 1940 French French
10305 Traditional French Cooking Curnonsky 1961 French French
10305 Travels In The Congo André Gide 1927 French French
10305 The Social History Of Art Arnold Hauser 1951 German German
10305 The Conquest Of Bread Petr Kropotkin 1892 Russian French
10305 The Coming Of The French Revolution Georges Lefebvre 1939 French French
10305 Critique Of Everyday Life Henri Lefebvre 1947 French French
10305 The Gift Marcel Mauss 1925 French French
10305 Sense And Non Sense Maurice Merleau-Ponty 1948 French French
10305 Renoir, My Father Jean Renoir 1962 French French
10305 Memoirs Of A Revolutionary Victor Serge 1951 French French
10305 The Need For Roots Simone Weil 1949 French French
10364 Isola Allegra Goodman 2025 American English
10394 Scaffolding Lauren Elkin 2024 Unknown English
10397 For Marx Louis Althusser 1965 French French
10413 H Hh H Laurent Binet 2010 French French
10408 The Free Frenchman Piers Paul Read 1986 British English
10450 Lords of Finance Liaquat Ahamed 2009 American English
10450 Footsteps Richard Holmes 1985 French English
10450 Mr. Palomar Italo Calvino 1983 Italian Italian
10450 Arthur Ashe: A Life Raymond Arsenault 2018 Unknown English
10450 Churchill Andrew Roberts 2018 British English
10499 The Second Oldest Profession Phillip Knightley 1986 British English
10528 Of Grammatology Jacques Derrida 1967 French French
10605 Someone Like Us Dinaw Mengestu 2024 American English
10613 Verdun Jules Romains 1938 French French
10624 Lives Of The Wives Carmela Ciuraru 2023 Unknown English
10629 Edward Lear's Book of Nonsense Edward Lear 1846 British English
10677 The Use Of Photography Annie Ernaux, Marc Marie 2024 French English
10734 Le Pull Over Rouge Gilles Perrault 1978 French French
10761 The Blue Bicycle Régine Deforges 1983 French French
10779 An Island Princess Starts A Scandal Adriana Herrera 2023 Unknown English
10798 I'm Gone Jean Echenoz 1999 French French
10815 Firelight and Woodsmoke Claude Michelet 1979 French French
10842 Who Controls The Internet? Tim Wu, Jack Goldsmith 2006 American English
10859 Nova Antologia Poética Vinícius De Moraes 2003 Brazilian Portuguese
10899 Les Amours Pierre Ronsard 1552 French French
10911 Gaspard De La Nuit Aloysius Bertrand 1842 French French
10914 Common As Air Lewis Hyde 2010 American English
10937 The Art Of Cruelty Maggie Nelson 2011 American English
10959 Radiant Terminus Antoine Volodine 2014 French French
10963 The Films In My Life Francois Truffaut 1975 French French
10966 That Time Of Year Marie NDiaye 2020 French French
10969 This Machine Kills Secrets Andy Greenberg 2012 Unknown English
10974 Stalin's Meteorologist Olivier Rolin 2014 French French
10996 The History Of Sexuality Michel Foucault 1976 French French
11001 Shifting The Silence Etel Adnan 2020 Unknown English
11017 The Story Of San Michele Axel Munthe 1929 Swedish English