violagirl

Inspired by Dog_Mother's post ..<BR><BR>Does anyone have any suggestions for books to read on/about France?<BR><BR>I'm going to Bayeux, Paris and the Tarn Valley, so books about those areas would be great. <BR><BR>I'm in the middle of reading a D-Day book at the moment which is dreadfully disappointing. I read Sebastian Faulks's &quot;Charlotte Gray&quot; and &quot;Birdsong&quot; recently .. which were part of the inspiration for this trip to France.<BR><BR>Any ideas? (of course, nice light paperbacks are always better - easier to carry!)

cigalechanta

Lucky you! the scenic drive or boat ride on the Tarn are spectacular. The gorges are beautiful, changing colors depending on what part of day.<BR>The latest book I have read is about a village n the Lot. &quot;From here You can't see Paris&quot;

Andrea_expat

One of my new favorites is &quot;The Piano Shop on the Left Bank&quot;, written by an American living in Paris who slowly makes his way into real Parisian life through his neighborhood piano shop. Sounds more quirky than it is - it's really . A lovely book.

violagirl

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll see if I can find them in my local book shop.<BR><BR>Chigalechanta - I'm actually going horse-riding in the Tarn Valley. Can't wait!<BR><BR>Anyone else with suggestions?

lynlor

The book that I keep mentioning is BURGUNDY STARS. It is a fascinating biography of the late Bernard Loiseau.

Powell

A wonderful book on the history of Paris, &quot;The Seven Ages of Paris&quot; by Alistair Horne, is well worth reading. Not dry history, but colorful, lively description of how Paris has unfolded.<BR><BR>&quot;From Paris to the Moon&quot; by Adam Gopnick is great.<BR><BR>Not on Bayeux in particular, but on Normandy in general, &quot;Madame Bovary&quot; by Flaubert. If you are looking for WW II books, those by the late Steven Ambrose are fine as are Keegan books.<BR><BR>One I enjoyed is set in Lot in southwestern France--I am not sure if in Tarn Valley, was &quot;From Here You Cant see Paris&quot;.<BR><BR>Good reading.

abbekit

Hemmingway's A Moveable Feast is a must. New murder mystery by Dan Brown The Da Vinci Code. Le Divorce by Diane Johnson

mclaurie

Violagirl,<BR>A bit off topic, but if you're into riding, did you see that the original stables at Versailles have been redone &amp; a new riding academy opened ? Here's a web article. I saw the story also in the NY Times. http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/labe.../48/gb/08.html

rickmav

I love the Maigret mysteries by Georges Simenon. Although not set in current Paris, they do give a wonderful sense (other than the murdered bodies!) of the importance given to food and drink.

Betty1

I am going to France in June with a group of eight people. Some time ago I put together a reading list for them including several titles recommended on previous threads by Fodorites. Here is the fiction portion of that list. If you would also be interested in non-fiction or movies/videos, I'd be happy to post that as well.<BR><BR>Books � Fiction<BR><BR>A Tale of Two Cities � Dickens <BR><BR>The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Emmuska Orczy <BR><BR>The Glassblowers - Daphne DuMaurier<BR> <BR>A Moveable Feast � Hemingway <BR><BR>The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Les Miserables � Hugo<BR><BR>The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man in the Iron Mask� Alexandre Dumas <BR><BR>Le Divorce � Diane Johnson (soon to be released as a movie)<BR><BR>Hotel Pastis � Peter Mayle<BR><BR>Murder in the Marais, Murder in Belleville, Murder in the Sentier � Cara Black (and her new one Murder in the Bastille)<BR><BR>The Lost King of France � Deborah Cadbury <BR><BR>Chocolat (also the movie with J. Binoche), Blackberry Wine, Five Quarters of the Orange � Joanne Harris<BR><BR>Catherine LeVendeur series (8 novels, latest: Heresy) � Sharan Newman<BR><BR>Charlotte Gray � Sebastian Faulks <BR><BR>Timeline - Michael Crichton<BR><BR>Caves of Perigord - Martin Walker <BR><BR>The Last Time I Saw Paris � Elizabeth Adler (set in Paris, Dordogne &amp; Provence)<BR><BR>Enjoy!<BR>

bashful

A Year in Provence; Toujours Provence and others by Peter Mayle.

mpprh

Hi<BR><BR>here is the link to Amazon best sellers with the keyword &quot;France&quot; : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/external-search?tag=thelanguedocp-20<BR><BR>Peter<BR>http://tlp.netfirms.com<BR><BR><BR>