2 devastating stories of faith and sacrifice from Balzac's panorama of nineteenth-century French life, La Comédie Humaine.
The Atheist’s Mass
Category: French
A Man’s Head
Maigret believes he has got the wrong man. But no one else is a suspect. And the convict is about to go to the gallows.....
Citizens
This book will give the reader an understanding of the tragedy of the French Revolution. A Revolution that failed to feed the population, a Revolution that failed to protect the population from outside invaders, and a Revolution that failed to protect the population from corruption and tyranny. A failure on all accounts.
A Crime in Holland
Outsiders are viewed with suspicion in the small Dutch town of Delfzijl. Unable to speak the language, Maigret must unearth the sins at the heart of this seemingly respectable community.
Satori à Paris
by Jack Kerouac ISBN: 978-2-07-296188-5 First published 1966 Translated from the English by Jean Autret 224 pages (112 English / 112 French) Publisher: folio-lesite.fr Cover photo by Giovanni Coruzzi / Leemage 4 / 5 Stars An interesting book, about Jack Kerouac trying to find his descendants in Brittany, France. This copy is part of the… Continue reading Satori à Paris
The Short Reign of Pippin IV
by John Steinbeck ISBN: 0-330-02163-X First published 1957 159 pages Publisher: Pan Books in association with William Heinemann Cover illustration N/A 4 / 5 Stars A strange type of book by John Steinbeck, 'Winner of the 1962 Novel Prize for Literature'. Part satire, part comment, the book asks the reader the question, what would you… Continue reading The Short Reign of Pippin IV
History Of The Cathars
A really interesting introduction to the history of the Cathar movement.
The Scarlet Pimpernel
by Baroness Orczy ISBN : n/a First published 1937 192 pages Publisher: University of London Press Ltd Illustrations by Richard Kennedy 5/5 Stars A 1966 impression of this English classic, first published in 1937. The Scarlet Pimpernel was the first masked hero, ahead of Zorro or the Lone Ranger and late incarnations such as Batman.… Continue reading The Scarlet Pimpernel
Asterix and the Missing Scroll
by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad ISBN: 978-1510-100466 First published 2015 48 pages Publisher: http://www.hachettechildrens.co.uk 4 / 5 Stars At first you might think 'an underwhelming title', until you realise that the book references Caesar's great work 'Commentaries on the Conquest of Gaul' Then you realise this 'comic' book addresses the real question, what would… Continue reading Asterix and the Missing Scroll
Félicie
by Georges Simenon ISNB: 978-0-241-18866-8 First published 1944 152 pages Publisher: Penguin Classics Cover photograph: Harry Gruyaert / Magnum Photos 4/5 Stars Each Inspector Maigret story has its own idiosyncrasy, its own theme which runs through the short book. Is it summer? Is it in Paris? Is it set in the countryside? Here the 'theme'… Continue reading Félicie
Inspector Cadaver
by Georges Simenon ISBN: 978-0-241-18847-7 First published 1944 170 pages Publisher: Penguin Classics Cover photograph: Harry Gruyaert / Magnum Photos Translated by William Hobson 5 / 5 Stars Maigret doesn't so much solve crime as allow the truth to seep from the characters involved and therefore the 'crime' to solve itself... Often he is no… Continue reading Inspector Cadaver
The Sicilian Vespers
by Steven Runciman ISBN: 978-1-107-60474-2 First published 1958 356 pages Publisher: Cambridge University Press Cover image by Savushkin Cover design by Andrew Ward 4/5 Stars Easter 1282 a rebellion broke out on the island of Sicily against the rules of the French overlords. Within a short period all the French on the island of Sicily… Continue reading The Sicilian Vespers
The Kingdom of Acre
A History of the Crusades III : The Kingdom of Acre By Steven Runciman ISBN: 978-0-241-29877-0 First published 1954 401 pages Publisher : Penguin Classics Cover illustration: Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris 6/5 Stars A wonderful end to the trilogy of books written about the crusades. The attention to detail and fast pace reminded me of Stieg… Continue reading The Kingdom of Acre
Eugénie Grandet
by Honoré de Balzac ISBN: 978-0-19-955589-5 192 pages Publisher: Oxford University Press / http://www.oup.com/worldclassics Cover illustration: detail from A Girl Seated outside a House, 1867 by Jacob Maris 4/5 Stars "One of the earliest and most famous novels in Balzac's great Comédie humaine" begins the blurb on the back cover. The characters are well drawn and… Continue reading Eugénie Grandet
Moderato Cantabile
By Marguerite Duras ISBN: 978-1-84749-052-0 First published 1958 122 pages Publisher: Les Éditions de Minuit / oneworldclassics.com Translated by Richard Seaver 4/5 Stars Intriguing short novel translated from the French original. A tale of forbidden passion, unleashed by the tragic events that have unfolded at a café. Marguerite describes a little industrial french coastal town. Factories,… Continue reading Moderato Cantabile
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