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1066, The Year of the Conquest • David Howarth HISTORY • 1981 • PAPER • 207 PAGES A concise, lucid history of the Battle of Hastings, rich in anecdotal detail. Howarth relies on the few medieval sources available to reconstruct the events leading up to and the consequences of the famous battle. As much a master storyteller as an adept historian, he provides insight into the court intrigue, personalities and daily life in the Norman period. (GBR115, $14.00)
The Accidental Connoisseur, An Irreverent Journey Through the Wine World • Lawrence Osborne FOOD • 2005 • PAPER • 262 PAGES Oh, what a quest -- and what great fun. Osborne journeys across the world to places like Provence, Tuscany and Sonoma on an animated quest of what makes wine and what makes it good. He stops by New York, San Francisco, Paris, Florence, and Rome to see what people are drinking. He meets plenty of interesting characters along the way (like Robert Mondavi), revealing much about the pleasures of wine (and travel!) We're hoping for a southern hemisphere sequel. (TVL31, $15.00)
Accounting for Taste, The Triumph of French Cuisine • Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson FOOD • 2006 • PAPER • 262 PAGES A penetrating look at the evolution of the food of France into "French cuisine," a benchmark for international cooking and shorthand for high culture. Ferguson explores the history and personalities that brought about this revolution in taste. (FRN691, $25.00)
Afloat • Guy de Maupassant LITERATURE • 2008 • PAPER • 120 PAGES A book of dazzling but treacherously shifting currents, a seemingly simple logbook of a sailing cruise along the French Mediterranean coast that opens up to reveal unexpected depths, as Maupassant merges fact and fiction, dream and documentation in a wholly original style. (FRN754, $14.00)
The Age of Revolution, 1789-1848 • Eric J. Hobsbawm HISTORY • 1996 • PAPER • 356 PAGES Renowned historian (and Marxist) Eric J. Hobsbawm begins his four volume history of the modern world with this trenchant account of the transformation of society wrought by the French Revolution and Industrial Revolution in Britian. (GBR418, $16.95)
The Age of the Cathedrals, Art and Society 980-1420 • Georges Duby HISTORY • 1983 • PAPER • 320 PAGES The definitive historical study of the building of the great cathedrals. French scholar Duby, writing very accessibly, describes the cathedrals themselves, and the philosophical, religious, and political climate that enabled them to be built. (EUR01, $28.00)
Alias Olympia, A Woman's Search for Manet's Notorious Model and Her Own Desire • Eunice Lipton BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1999 • PAPER • 192 PAGES Not just another naked woman in a painting (to quote the author), Victorine Meurent figured in nine of Manet's paintings during the years 1862-1874, bewildering contemporary audiances with her frank gaze. Lipton, an art historian with feminist flair, combines biography, art history and memoir in this intriguing detective story. (FRN220, $19.95)
All Rivers Run to the Sea • Elie Wiesel BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1996 • PAPER • 464 PAGES Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel recounts his remarkable life, from his childhood in Romania to the horrors of Auschwitz, his days as a young writer in post-war France and New York, his many pilgrimages to Israel, and his ongoing support Jewish of communities. (EUR153, $16.95)
Alsace, Lorraine Map 516 • Michelin Travel Publications MAP An up-to-date regional map at the very good scale of 1:200,000 published by Michelin. Two Sides. 52x40 inches. (FRN158, $11.95)
America's Great War, World War I and the American Experience • Robert H. Zieger HISTORY • 2001 • PAPER • 275 PAGES A study of how America's future was profoundly shaped by its involvement in WWI. (WAR82, $29.95)
Angers Laval Map • IGN 2004 • MAP A detailed, topographic map showing the Loire Valley from Angiers to Laval at a scale of 1:100,000. One Side. 38x52 inches. (FRN485, $11.95)
Annecy Thonon-les-Bains Map • IGN MAP An excellently detailed map of the Haute-Savoie at a scale of 1:100,000. One Side. 48x38 inches. (FRN390, $11.95)
Aquitaine Map • Michelin MAP A regional map of the Aquitaine region, including Bordeau and Biarritz, at a scale of 1:200,000. All of France is covered in 21 regional maps. Two Sides. 39x52 inches. (FRN205, $12.95)
Aquitaine Map R15 • IGN 2003 • MAP A detailed regional map of the Aquitaine at a scale of 1:250,000. Two Sides. 52x39 inches. (FRN452, $11.95)
Art and Architecture in France, 1500-1700 • Richard Beresford • Anthony Blunt ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1999 • PAPER • 304 PAGES A depiction of artistic endeavors that were born in 16th- and 17th-century France. This book portrays architecture of the chateaux of the Loire Valley, Versailles, paintings by Poussin and Claude, as well as the sculpture of Coysevox. Organized chronologically, it provides an overview of the principle works of the period, as well as their creators. (FRN242, $40.00)
Art and Illusion • E. H. Gombrich ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2000 • PAPER • 512 PAGES A classic study on the ever-evolving relationship between perception and art. (ART15, $39.95)
Art and Society in the Middle Ages • Georges Duby ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2000 • PAPER • 128 PAGES A study of the relationship between the production of art and the nature of Medieval society. Noted French historian Georges Duby draws on religion, culture, government, geography, and, of course, artistic pursuits in this portrait of the Middle ages. (EUR85, $30.55)
Artists in Residence • Dana Micucci ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2001 • PAPER • 143 PAGES This attractively illustrated guide features an overview of each French artist's home or studio in or around Paris, travel information, and a good selection of color photographs and reproductions of paintings. The author, a journalist and photographer specializing in the arts, includes among others Monet's famous cottage at Giverny, Van Gogh at home in Auvers, Courbet's 18th-century townhouse in Ornans, and Delacroix's Parisian studio. An excellent guide for day-long excursions outside Paris with a focus on nature and art. (FRN353, $19.95)
As They Were • M. F. K. Fisher TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 1983 • PAPER • 272 PAGES This marvelous collection of autobiographical essays by the celebrated, much-adored Fisher covers her life, family, food and adventures from Whittier, California to the south of France. (FRN705, $15.00)
At Home in France • Ann Barry TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 1997 • PAPER • 247 PAGES Subtitled "Tales of an American and Her House Abroad," this account of life in a small village in southwestern France is shot through with Barry's irony and New York outlook on life. A part-time visitor -- and no homebody despite the title -- she includes her excursions to Rocamadour, Brittany, Provence and other regions in search of fun and food. Barry was a travel editor at the "New Yorker" and "New York Times." (FRN215, $19.00)
Atlas Pocket Traveler France: Travels With a Donkey, Gleanings in France, a Motor-flight Through France • Diane Johnson TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2008 • HARD COVER • 560 PAGES Presented in a handsome three-volume casebound set in a pleasing rose, with an introduction by Diane Johnson, these carefully edited travel classic include Robert Louis Stevenson's Travels with a Donkey, James Fenimore Cooper's Gleanings in France and Edith Wharton's A Motor-flight through France. Two Americans and a Scot, traveling in different periods with different temperaments, the spirited Wharton, melancholy, tormented Stevenson and endlessly curious Fenimore Cooper, each author portrays a very different France. (FRN756, $49.50)
Autonauts of the Cosmoroute • Julio Cortazar LITERATURE • 2007 • PAPER • 350 PAGES This novel's comic and surreal adventures along the Paris-Marseilles freeway circa 1982 lend themselves to a fascinating examination of why we travel. (FRN707, $20.00)
The Autumn of the Middle Ages • Johan Huizinga HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 467 PAGES A pioneering work of social and cultural history, this classic volume is a richly detailed portrait of life, thought and art in 14th- and 15th-century France and the Netherlands. You may have read this book in your college history class, but this graceful new translation is well worth a re-visit before journeying to these regions. With 45 illustrations complementing Huizinga's focus on the art and architecture. (EUR17, $30.00)
Auvergne Map • IGN 2006 • MAP A map of the Auvergne from Moulins south to Aurillac and Le Puy-en-Velay, at a scale of 1:250,000. Two Sides. 39x43 inches. (FRN607, $11.95)
Auvergne-Limousin Map 522 • Michelin MAP A regional map of Auvergne-Limousin, including Limoges and St.-Etienne, a scale of 1:200,000. All of France is covered in 21 regional maps. One Side. 40 X 61 inches. (FRN62, $12.95)
Avignon Map • IGN MAP A French-produced city map of Avignon. Two Sides. 26x48 inches. (FRN293, $9.95)
Battle of Normandy 1944 Map • Michelin Travel Publications MAP A detailed map of Normandy at a scale of 1:200,000 showing the main sites of the summer 1944 battle. This nifty map is an antique-feeling reproduction of a map originally published by Michelin in 1947. The main map is thick with place names, and features special icons denoting battle dates and parachute drops, as well as an inset showing the broader movements of the forces. One Side. 29x43 inches. (FRN264, $12.95)
The Bayeux Tapestry • David Wilson ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2004 • HARD COVER • 234 PAGES The extraordinary Bayeux Tapestry is on display in the town of Bayeux in Normandy. Its colorful embroidery and Latin text tell the story of the Norman victory over England, led by William the Conqueror, at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. This full-color reproduction of the Tapestry highlights its lively illustrations, and Wilson gives an outline of this exciting point in Medieval history. (FRN445, $50.00)
Berlitz French Phrase Book & CD • Berlitz Multimedia LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 2007 • AUDIO CD • 224 PAGES A 224-page phrase book and audio CD, this handy language primer focuses on food, people, fun and the basic phrases for getting around in another language. Compatible with iPod and MPS devices, this bestselling series is geared for travelers. (FRN709, $14.95)
Birds of Europe • Lars Svensson FIELD GUIDE • 2010 • PAPER • 416 PAGES • FAVORITE This Princeton Field Guide features 3,500 illustrations by Killian Mullarney and Dan Zetterstrom. Color plates depict every species -- and sometimes several different variants -- for 722 birds found from the Urals to the Atlantic, Scandinavia to the Middle East. (FG47, $29.95)
Bloom's Literary Guide To Paris • Mike Gerrard GUIDEBOOK • 2006 • PAPER • 151 PAGES Combining history, geography and literature, this book focuses on Paris's literary roots, real and imagined, from Hugo's Notre Dame and Hemingway's favorite Parisian Cafes. (FRN690, $14.95)
Blue Guide Southwest France • Delia Gray-Durant GUIDEBOOK • 2006 • PAPER • 512 PAGES A compact guide to southwestern France with a strong focus on history and architecture. Within the borders of this region are prehistoric caves and grottos, among the largest collection of medieval towns and castles in Europe, and splendid cathedrals. Organized as a driving guide, it includes helpful town plans. It covers the region from Toulouse west across the Pyrenees, the Atlantic coast, Bordeaux and Biarritz. (FRN53, $28.95)
Bordeaux Map • IGN MAP A magificently detailed map of the city of Bordeaux and surrounding areas at a scale of 1:13,000, bundled with a 68-page index. Published by IGN, the French National Geographic Institute. Two Sides. 26x47 inches. (FRN295, $9.95)
Bordeaux Wine Region Map • IGN MAP A regional map of Bordeaux, shown at a scale of 1:250,000. One Side. 35x31 inches. (FRN203, $12.95)
The Botanist and the Vintner, How Wine Was Saved for the World • Christy Campbell SCIENCE • 2006 • PAPER • 314 PAGES In this witty book British journalist Christy Campbell interweaves a dramatic tale of the devastation of vineyards in 1860's France with cultural history and the mad race by scientists (and others) to discover the cause and cure. The French were none too pleased that salvation (as well as the disease) came in the form of American root stock. The mysterious disease, ultimately diagnosed as a tiny phyloxerra aphid, threatened vines in Italy, Portugal, Germany and Switzerland. Eastern Europe and as far afield as Australia. (FRN497, $14.95)
Boundaries, The Making of France and Spain in the Pyrenees • Peter Sahlins HISTORY • 1991 • PAPER • 351 PAGES A learned, provocative study of the frontier of France and Spain -- and the struggles between national and cultural identities in the Pyrennes. It's a scholarly work focused on Cerdanya, but also an authoritative and informative overview of what happened when Catalon was arbitrarily split between France and Spain in 1659. (SPN154, $29.95)
Bourgogne Map • IGN 2007 • MAP A map of Burgundy at a scale of 1:250,000. Two Sides. 39x47 inches. (FRN262, $11.95)
The Bretons • Patrick Galliou • Michael Jones HISTORY • 1996 • PAPER • 334 PAGES An engaging, scholarly history of the Bretons, from prehistoric to modern times. Galliou and Jones present a wealth of literary and archaeological evidence in exploring the traditions, culture and identity of the Breton people, tracing their Armorican roots. A volume in the Peoples of Europe series. (FRN239, $43.95)
Brittany Map • Michelin Travel Publications MAP A regional map of Brittany by Michelin at the very good scale of 1:200,000. These highly recommended maps include major and minor roadways, GR trails, good topographic details, towns, villages and tourist attractions. All of France is covered in 21 maps. One Side. 40x61 inches. (FRN79, $11.95)
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept • Paulo Coelho LITERATURE • 2006 • PAPER • 179 PAGES From the wildly popular Brazilian author Paulo Coelho comes this magical tale of a woman who follows a former childhood friend through the French Pyrenees. The friend, a man she has not seen in years, has become a spiritual guide (and some say, a miracle worker), who leads her on a unforgettable romantic journey of discovery and enlightenment. (FRN221, $13.99)
Cadogan Guide Brittany • Philippe Barbour GUIDEBOOK • 2009 • PAPER • 520 PAGES A comprehensive, practical guide in the British series with 23 maps and city places, extensive, annotated listings of restaurants and accommodations and a section of color photographs. (FRN383, $21.95)
Cadogan Guide Languedoc-Roussillon • Dana Facaros • Michael Pauls GUIDEBOOK • 2012 • PAPER • 304 PAGES Based themselves in southwest France, Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls cover the sweep of the French Mediterranean from the Rhone Valley to the Spanish border, including Nimes, the Corbieres, Carcassone, Perpignan and Toulouse, in opinionated, knowledgeable detail. With a section of color photographs and maps and a good 70-page overview of culture, art and architecture, history and food. Third Edition. (FRN602, $21.95)
Candide • Voltaire • John Butt LITERATURE • 1990 • PAPER • 144 PAGES The Penguin Classics edition of Voltaire's satirical tale of the adventures of Candide and friends --- and basis for the Bernstein opera. (FRN655, $11.00)
Carmen and Other Stories • Prosper Merimee • Nicholas Jotcham LITERATURE • 1999 • PAPER • 361 PAGES A sophisticated Parisian, Merimee preferred tales of high drama, banditry, outlaws and outcasts set in exotic locales, preferably in the past. This collection of nine stories includes: Carmen, the source for the opera; Columba, set in Corsica; the Etruscan Vase, one of his Parisian tales; The Storming of the Redoubt, involving Napoleon's 1812 Russian campaign; and Lokis, set in the forests of Medieval Lithuania. (FRN201, $13.95)
Carpentras Digne-Les-Bains Map • Institut Geographique National MAP A local "Carte de Promendade" at a scale of 1:100,000, covering hiking trails, bike paths, churches, museums, chateaux and other activities. One Side. 38x52 inches. (FRN693, $11.95)
Carpentras, Vaison-la-Romain map • IGN MAP Topographic map of the region, at a scale of 1:25,000 One Side. 27X39 inches. (FRN593, $14.95)
The Catalans • Patrick O'Brian LITERATURE • 2005 • PAPER • 224 PAGES The novelist Grgory Feeley wrote in the Washington Post about this early novel: "The story of Dr. Alain Roig, who returns to his Catalan home town after years of medical research in the Far East to intercede in an imminent family scandal, is drolly observed, beautiful in its evocation of place, and -- like O'Brian's later novels -- often mordantly funny. " (FRN511, $14.95)
Cathar Castles, Fortresses of the Albigensian Crusade 1209-1300 • Marcus Cowper • Peter Dennis ARCHAEOLOGY • 2006 • PAPER • 64 PAGES A slim guide to the medieval walled cities of Languedoc, including Albi, Carcassonne, Beziers and Toulouse. With illustrations, photographs and diagrams. Pope Innocent III unleashed his army on the Cathars of these cities in the 13th century. (FRN623, $18.95)
The Cathars and the Albigensian Crusade • Michael Costen HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 256 PAGES • COMING IN A history of the war against the Cathar heretics of Languedoc in the 12th and 13th centuries, including an in-depth profile of the region's social and political situation at the time. (FRN278, $30.00)
Cezanne • Mary Tompkins Lewis ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2001 • PAPER • 352 PAGES A well-illustrated introduction to Cezanne's life and works in the stimulating Art and Ideas series by Phaidon. Lewis highlights the influence of 19th-century French society and Provence in particular, on Cezanne's art. With 193 color and 13 black and white illustrations, a chronology, glossary and suggestions for further reading. Lewis is a professor of art history at Trinity College. (FRN508, $22.95)
Cezanne, Landscape into Art • Pavel Machotka ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1996 • HARD COVER • 172 PAGES In this handsome oversize book, Machotka pairs modern color photographs with reproductions of Cezanne's landscape paintings. It's an intriguing look at the great artist's inspirations and processes. (FRN463, $70.00)
Chagall, The Art of Dreams • Daniel Marchesseau ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1998 • PAPER • 176 PAGES As a Russian Jew in Paris, Marc Chagall developed a hybrid painting style, part French modernism, part Cubism, part Surrealism, and infused with the traditions of his religious upbringing. A volume in the "Discoveries" series, this is a slim introduction to the man and his work, richly illustrated throughout with color reproductions. (FRN268, $12.95)
Chamonix to Zermatt, The Walker's Haute Route • Kev Reynolds GUIDEBOOK • 2007 • PAPER • 187 PAGES A comprehensive, practical guide to the classic Haute Route (with suggested alternatives). Apart from covering each segment of the long-distance walk, the book features a 30-page introduction to the region and good information on preparation. With photographs and sketch maps. The author, Kev Reynolds, has written a series of walking guides in Switzerland and the Alps published by Cicerone Press in Great Britain. (ALP21, $19.95)
Chamonix, Mont Blanc Massif (East) • IGN MAP This fabulously detailed topographic map (scale 1:25,000) shows the eastern portion of the Mont Blanc group. In combination with the same publisher's map of the western part of the range (Item FRN315), it's the best map for hikers doing the Mont Blanc circuit. One Side. 48x38 inches. (FRN314, $19.95)
Champagne-Ardennes Map 514 • Michelin Travel Publications MAP A regional map at 1:200,000 scale, with topographic details, city plans and attractions. One Side. 40 X 61 inches. (FRN159, $12.95)
Charming Small Hotel Guides, France • Fiona Duncan • Leonie Glass GUIDEBOOK • 2005 • PAPER • 352 PAGES A full page with a color photograph is dedicated to each entry in this guide focused on hotels with 20 bedrooms or less. (FRN625, $19.95)
Chocolat • Joanne Harris LITERATURE • 2000 • PAPER • 306 PAGES This charming novel set in the Loire Valley pits provincial morals against pleasure. An unconventional confectioner transforms a sleepy town when she opens a chocolate boutique during Lent. It was made into a movie staring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. (FRN484, $15.00)
Citizen Soldiers • Stephen Ambrose HISTORY • 1998 • PAPER • 528 PAGES Told through the perspectives of Allied soldiers on the front lines, this is Ambrose's account of the battles fought in the year between D-Day and the German surrender. Visceral and well researched, it's subtitled "The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany, June 7, 1944 to May 7, 1945." (WAR19, $18.00)
Citizens, A Chronicle of the French Revolution • Simon Schama HISTORY • 1990 • PAPER • 948 PAGES A detailed account of the French Revolution from the eminent historian Simon Schama. With penetrating insight, this impressive work chronicles the events, the rhetoric and the personalities of this turbulent period in French history. Recognized as one of the best books of the decade by Time magazine. (FRN115, $32.00)
Clara's Grand Tour, Travels With a Rhinoceros in Eighteenth-century Europe • Glynis Ridley HISTORY • 2006 • PAPER • 240 PAGES The entertaining history of a most unusual eighteenth-century European celebrity. Clara the Indian rhinoceros was brought to Europe in 1741 by the Dutch sea captain Douwemout Van der Meer, and toured for seventeen years, to the delight of heads of state such as Louis XV and Frederick the Great. A marvelous and unique look at the introduction of Eastern wildlife into the Western world. (FRN536, $12.00)
Claude Monet • William Seitz ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1983 • HARD COVER • 128 PAGES A short survey of Monet's greatest works, with analysis of individual paintings and 48 color plates. (FRN249, $24.95)
Claude Monet, The Color of Time • Virginia Spate ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2001 • PAPER • 384 PAGES A critically lauded analysis of Monet and his art. Professor Virginia Spate provides in-depth interpretations of individual works, taking into account technique, the evolution of themes and styles, historical and biographical information, exhibition, reception, and letters written by Monet, himself. What results is an impeccably researched, convincing and beautifully illustrated overview of a much more complex artist than previously thought. (FRN311, $39.95)
Claudine's House • Colette • Doris Lessing LITERATURE • 2006 • PAPER • 166 PAGES A marvelous new translation of Colette's warm, sensual account of growing up under her mother's watchful care in the south of France. Written 20 years after her wildly popular Claudine novels. (FRN570, $15.95)
The Club Dumas • Arturo Perez-Reverte • Sonia Soto MYSTERY • 2006 • PAPER • 384 PAGES In this second Perez-Reverte thriller, book detective Lucas Corso helps uncover the secret behind a hanged book-lover and a fragment from the original "The Three Musketeers." Black magic, adventure, and murderers follow him as he travels between Madrid, Toledo and Paris to solve the puzzling mystery. (FRN577, $14.95)
Coming Down the Seine • Robert Gibbings TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2002 • PAPER • 224 PAGES A classic account, in words and engravings, of Gibbing's 400-mile journey down the Seine from its source near Dijon across France to Le Havre. He includes towns and cities along the river and the art and arists who have been inspired by the Seine. Originally published in 1953. With 50 engravings by the author, who had a fondness for rivers. (FRN443, $15.00)
Companion Guide Burgundy • Robert Speaight • Francis Pagan GUIDEBOOK • 2000 • PAPER • 385 PAGES A personable district-by-district guide to Burgundy, this intelligent (and very British) book interweaves maps, some illustrations and plenty of opinionated detail regarding local geography, history and culture. Revised and updated by Francis Pagan. (FRN73, $34.95)
Companion Guide Gascony and Dordogne • Richard Barber GUIDEBOOK • 2002 • PAPER • 348 PAGES A comprehensive, serious-minded guide to the architecture, art and culture of Gascony and Dordogne, combining descriptions of each attraction with personal anecdote. With black-and-white photos and maps throughout. (FRN06, $34.95)
The Complete Claudine • Colette LITERATURE • 2001 • PAPER • 560 PAGES • YOUNG ADULTS A collection of four short novels about coming of age as a woman in turn-of-the-century France. Colette beautifully evokes period and place in this vivid portrait of Victorian Paris. The first novel, Claudine at School, launched the series -- and Colette's writing career. The story continues with Claudine in Paris, Claudine Married, and Claudine and Annie. (FRN125, $21.00)
The Complete Jewish Guide to France • Toni Kamins GUIDEBOOK • 2001 • PAPER • 238 PAGES A well research compact travel guide with a short overview of Jewish history and plenty of practical travel information on where to go and what to do. Organized geographically, the book includes synagogues, cemeteries, museums and other sites of Jewish interest (FRN349, $19.99)
The Complete Letters of Vincent Van Gogh • Vincent Van Gogh BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2000 • HARD COVER • 1864 PAGES A handsome three volume set containing all the available letters written by Vincent Van Gogh. Mostly addressed to his brother Theo, these are an illuminating glimpse into the life of an artist and a heart-breaking account of mental illness. A replica of the set published in the 1950s by the New York Graphic Society, this is the most comprehensive collection available, illustrated with reproductions of all the original drawings that appeared in the letters. It is a "must-have" for all Van Gogh enthusiasts. (NTH35, $100.00)
A Concise History of France • Roger Price HISTORY • 1993 • PAPER • 380 PAGES A compact survey of French history, events and personalities from medieval times to the early 1990s in the series by Cambridge University Press. (FRN269, $25.99)
Consider the Oyster • M. F. K. Fisher FOOD • 1988 • PAPER • 76 PAGES The inestimable Fisher's ruminations on the oyster, a delightful essay full of recipes and bits of trivia. This is her second (1941) of many books. In it, Fisher already diplays her flair for storytelling, autobiography and wit. (GEN273, $12.00)
The Contested Parterre, Public Theater and French Political Culture, 1680-1791 • Jeffrey S. Ravel HISTORY • 1999 • PAPER • 256 PAGES MIT professor Ravel's scholarly account of the relationship between rowdy theatre audiences and the political culture of eighteenth century France. (FRN745, $27.95)
The Cook and the Gardener, A Year of Recipes and Writings from the French Countryside • Amanda Hesser FOOD • 1999 • HARD COVER • 632 PAGES An American cook -- of all things -- at Chateau de Fey in Burgundy, the author records her recipes and growing fondness for Monsieur Milbert, the very French gardener, in this narrative cookbook. It includes 250 month-by-month recipes, which draw heavily on M. Milbert's garden, and some fine observations on local people and places. The chateau is owned by teacher and author Anne Willan. (FRN85, $35.00)
The Cornerstone, A Novel • Zoe Oldenbourg • Edward Hyams LITERATURE • 1998 • PAPER • 482 PAGES An engrossing historical novel, set during the 13th-century Albigensian crusade in France. The author vividly evokes the turbulent and often violent atmosphere of the Middle Ages, and the intensity of the ongoing religious warfare. (EUR171, $14.95)
Corsica Adventure Map • National Geographic 2012 • MAP A detailed double-sided map of Corsica, at a scale of 1:150,000. Printed on tear- and water-reistant paper, this National Geographic Adventure map is based on the cartography of Reise Know-How Verlag and the excellent World Mapping Project. Two Sides. 27 X 39 inches. Two Sides. 27 X 39 inches. (MED57, $11.95)
Corsica Trekking GR20 • David Abram GUIDEBOOK • 2008 • PAPER • 2008 PAGES A practical, compact route guide, featuring 32 large-scale maps with descriptions and guides to Ajaccio, Bastia, Calvi, Corte & Porte-Vecchio. (MED83, $19.95)
The Count of Monte Cristo • Alexandre Dumas • David Coward LITERATURE • 2009 • HARD COVER • 1168 PAGES • YOUNG ADULTS The Everyman's Library edition of Alexandre Dumas's epic novel of justice, retribution, and self-discovery in a newly revised translation. This beloved novel tells the story of Edmond Dantes, wrongfully imprisoned for life in the supposedly impregnable sea fortress, the Ch�teau d'If. After a daring escape, and after unearthing a hidden treasure revealed to him by a fellow prisoner, he devotes the rest of his life to tracking down and punishing the enemies who wronged him. Though a brilliant storyteller, Dumas was given to repetitions and redundancies; this slightly streamlined version of the original 1846 English translation speeds the narrative flow while retaining most of the rich pictorial descriptions and all the essential details of Dumas's intricately plotted and thrilling masterpiece. (FRN122, $25.95)
Courbet • Linda Nochlin ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2007 • PAPER • 224 PAGES Leading Art Historian Linda Nochlin scrutinizes the entirety of Courbet's oeuvre in this collection, which spans forty years worth of her scholarship. (ART82, $29.95)
Courbet's Realism • Michael Fried ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1992 • PAPER • 396 PAGES Fried, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, places Courbet's work in a tradition of the French antitheatrical tradtion. With many reproductions, most in black and white. (ART50, $55.00)
Cultural Misunderstandings, The French-American Experience • Raymonde Carroll CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1990 • PAPER • 162 PAGES An entertaining examination, by a Frenchwoman and anthropologist married to an American, of the possibility for cross-cultural misunderstanding on everything from telephones and money to food and friendship. (FRN475, $15.00)
Culture Shock! France • Sally Adamson Taylor GUIDEBOOK • 2009 • PAPER • 272 PAGES A practical guide to getting along in France. With chapters on food and wine, culture and society. (FRN424, $17.99)
Culture Smart! France • Barry Tomalin GUIDEBOOK • 2006 • PAPER • 168 PAGES A concise, no-nonsense guide to local customs, etiquette and culture with a short overview of the land and people along with practical travel advice. (FRN704, $9.95)
Cycle Touring In France • Stephen Fox GUIDEBOOK • 2006 • PAPER A compact, practical guide to eight week and two-week bicycle tours, including routes through Brittany, Picardy, Alsace, Auvergne/Languedoc, Provence, Dordogne/Lot, the Alps and Pyrenees. (FRN686, $19.95)
Cycling the River Loire, The Way of St Martin • John Higginson GUIDEBOOK • 2003 • PAPER • 128 PAGES A practical guide to cycling the country lanes and byways along the Loire. (FRN515, $18.95)
D-Day June 6, 1944, The Climactic Battle of World War II • Stephen Ambrose HISTORY • 1995 • PAPER • 655 PAGES Written by the best-selling historian Stephen Ambrose, this well researched book draws together interviews and government documents to tell the gripping tale of D-Day. This comprehensive account contains 32 pages of photos and eight maps. (FRN40, $18.99)
The D-Day Landing Beaches, The Guide • Georges Bernage GUIDEBOOK • 2001 • PAPER • 96 PAGES Each landing site is described with information on troop locations, fortifications, and terrain. With over 200 photographs, maps and charts. (FRN646, $19.95)
Da Vinci Code • Dan Brown MYSTERY • 2006 • PAPER • 464 PAGES This runaway bestseller, impressive for its authentic historic setting, draws the reader in with its twists, hidden messages, and puzzles. The plot revolves around the murder of the curator at the Louvre. (FRN422, $14.95)
David Golder, the Ball, Snow in Autumn, the Courilof Affair • Irene Nemirovsky LITERATURE • 2008 • HARD COVER • 363 PAGES Born in Kiev to a prosperous Jewish family and exiled to France, Nemirovsky published David Golder, the first of the four exquisite novels collected in this Everyman's Library edition, when she was just 26. In all of them she captures the contradictions of growing up an exile and a Jew in 1920s France. Newly translated by Sandra Smith, these masterful tales follow the success of Nemerovsky's Suite Francaise. (FRN746, $25.00)
A Day in the Country and Other Stories • Guy de Maupassant LITERATURE • 2009 • PAPER • 312 PAGES • YOUNG ADULTS A collection of 28 short stories, set mostly in de Maupassant's native Normandy. (FRN307, $11.95)
The Days of the French Revolution • Christopher Hibbert HISTORY • 1999 • PAPER • 384 PAGES An accessible and informative history of the French Revolution, this book is a fantastic introduction to a pivotal historical period, aimed at the general reader. Popular historian Christopher Hibbert covers the full scope of the revolution, concentrating on many of the major figures. With maps, a chronology and illustrations. (FRN153, $16.99)
The Debacle • Emile Zola LITERATURE • 1973 • PAPER • 509 PAGES Part of the "Penguin Classics" series, this is Zola's novel of the Franco-Prussian War and the Commune, as seen through the stories of common soldiers. Strong on historical detail, it remains one of the most famous and powerful pieces on these devastating conflicts. (FRN251, $16.00)
Degas • Keith Roberts ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1993 • PAPER • 128 PAGES A quick illustrated survey of Degas' work in "The Colour Library" series published by Phaidon. (ART26, $11.95)
Degas and the Dance • Jill Devonyar • Richard Kendall ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2002 • HARD COVER • 304 PAGES A gorgeous exhibition catalog and the most comprehensive collection of Degas' portraits of dancers. Obviously, the paintings are all here, but so too are the pastels, drawings and sculptures. (ART27, $49.95)
Degas, Impressions of a Great Master • Gerhard Gruitrooy ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1998 • HARD COVER • 144 PAGES An attractive portfolio of Degas' best works. (ART25, $16.98)
Dirty Snow • Georges Simenon LITERATURE • 2003 • PAPER • 203 PAGES Set in an occupied town in an unnamed country during an unnamed war (clearly World War II), Simenon's masterpiece is the story of struggling family, just trying to survive the occupation. Well, mom runs a whorehouse, and her son Frank Friedmaier is a small time crook. The book follows young Frank on a criminal escapade leading to an unfortunate downward spiral, and apparently under the watchful eyes of the occupying authorities. Haunting, and brilliant. (FRN683, $14.95)
The Doughboys, America and the First World War • Gary Mead HISTORY • 2002 • PAPER • 494 PAGES A history of World War I through the eyes of the American veterans who fought in its trenches. In presenting their accounts Mead argues the Doughboys, the three million American volunteers of the American Expeditionary Force, played a crucial role in the Allied victory. While this history focuses primarily on first hand accounts of the men on the front line, Mead also provides a political and social analysis of the overall American war contribution. (WAR75, $19.95)
The Dream of Scipio • Iain Pears MYSTERY • 2003 • PAPER • 464 PAGES This edifying, complex historical novel interweaves three stories set in the lower Rhone Valley of Provence during thee dark periods: the fall of Roman civilization; the coming of the plague; and the fall of France to the Nazis. By the author of An Instance of the Fingerpost. (FRN470, $16.00)
The Dream-Hunters of Corsica • Dorothy Carrington HISTORY • 2000 • PAPER • 206 PAGES • COMING IN This fascinating portrait of folkways, ancient traditions, superstition and magic in Corsica, first published in 1995, draws on the author's research and interviews over the past 40 years. Carrington, who has published widely on Corsican subjects, first visited the island in 1948. (MED73, $14.95)
The Dreyfus Affair, 'J'accuse' and Other Writings • Eleanor Levieux • Alain Pages • Emile Zola LITERATURE • 1998 • PAPER • 248 PAGES A scholarly edition of "J'accuse" -- Zola's humanist denunciation of the arrest of Alfred Dreyfus -- as well as letters, articles and documents pertaining to the controversy and to Zola's own subsequent arrest for sedition. In 1894 a Jewish captain in the French army, falsely accused of espionage, was deported to Devil's Island. His trial ignited an enormous popular debate, forever after known as "The Dreyfus Affair", as some French aired their anti-Semitic grievances while others (Emile Zola among them) excoriated their xenophobic countrymen. (FRN289, $26.00)
Edouard Manet • Pierre Courthion ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1984 • HARD COVER • 128 PAGES Featuring 40 color plates and 115 illustrations, this book is a good survey of the life and work of Manet. (FRN378, $24.95)
Edouard Manet, Rebel in a Frock Coat • Beth Archer Brombert BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1997 • PAPER • 506 PAGES Brombert delves into a study of Manet's personal life and social mileu in order to examine the ambiguities surrounding his art and the scandal it provoked in the 19th century art world. This work weighs in on the debate concerning whether Manet's intended to revolutionize art, conceding the artist more credit for his intellectualism and imagination than many earlier studies of his life. She also examines his relationship with women and provides readings of his important works. Illustrated with 70 halftones. (FRN377, $25.00)
Eleanor of Aquitaine, A Life • Alison Weir BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2001 • PAPER • 464 PAGES Weir's enjoyable biography of the woman who was both queen of France (married to Louis VII) and queen of England (married to Henry II) shows Eleanor as an ambitious political and artistic powerbroker in an age when most women were seen but not heard. (FRN287, $17.00)
The Emergence of Monasticism: From the Desert Fathers to the Early Middle Ages • Marilyn Dunn HISTORY • 2003 • PAPER • 288 PAGES This book by University of Glasgow lecturer Marilyn Dunn traces the development of monasticism through history from its earliest roots. (EUR196, $51.95)
Encore Provence • Peter Mayle TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2000 • PAPER • 226 PAGES Peter Mayle returns to Provence to detail the life of the village that the tourist never sees. Encore Provence combines personal reflections with a knowledgeable travel advise, providing yet another alluring portrait of southern France. (FRN128, $13.95)
The End of the Old Order, Napoleon and Europe, 1801-1805 • Frederick W. Kagan HISTORY • 2007 • PAPER • 808 PAGES Kagan re-examines the Napoleonic era from the balanced perpsective of all of the key players, offering a fascinating new study that draws on previously untapped archival documents. This is the first book in a 4-volume series. (EUR280, $40.00)
An Englishman A La Campagne, Life in Deepest France • Michael Sadler TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2005 • PAPER • 182 PAGES A humourous, quirky narrative of Englishman Michael Sadler making do in rural France, filled with anecdotes that convey the charm of the French countryside and the unavoidable mishaps that accompany Sandler's immersion in local life. (FRN569, $12.95)
The Enormous Room • George James Firmage • E. E. Cummings LITERATURE • 1999 • PAPER • 278 PAGES A fictional account of the poet's four-month confinement in France during World War I. A volunteer with a Red Cross ambulance unit on the western front, Cummings and a friend were (falsely) imprisoned in a French camp at La Ferte-Mace in Normandy for bad behavior. His witty and absorbing account of the experience is also the first of his many published challenges to authority. First published in 1922, this Liveright edition of the original manuscript edited George James Firmage, includes Cumming's drawings and material excised from the first edition. (WAR33, $14.95)
Essays • Michel de Montaigne LITERATURE • 1993 • PAPER Selected essays by the great philosopher. (FRN134, $14.00)
Eye-Deep in Hell, Trench Warfare in World War I • John Ellis HISTORY • 1989 • PAPER • 215 PAGES The gritty reality of the Western Front. This history of daily life in the trenches is interspersed with first hand accounts. The title is drawn from an Ezra Pound poem memorializing the soldiers of WWI. (WAR81, $22.95)
Eyewitness Guide Brittany • Eyewitness Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 288 PAGES Gorgeous, well illustrated and filled with excellent maps, this compact book is a thorough overview of Brittany, its history, traditions, cultures and sights. With hundreds of color photographs and illustrations. (FRN401, $25.00)
Eyewitness Guide Loire Valley • Eyewitness Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 264 PAGES Visually rich, comprehensive, and practical, this guidebook is an excellent introduction to the history, culture and attractions of the Loire Valley. Highly recommended. (FRN43, $23.00)
Eyewitness Guide Paris • Eyewitness Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2012 • PAPER • 448 PAGES Gorgeous, well illustrated and filled with excellent maps, this compact book is a thorough overview of the City of Light, its history, traditions, cultures and sights. Featuring well chosen literary excerpts and a detailed synopsis of the city's attractions. (FRN02, $25.00)
Eyewitness Guide Provence & the Cote D'Azur • Roger Williams GUIDEBOOK • 2012 • PAPER • 272 PAGES • BEST SELLER This superb guide, another entry in the excellent Eyewitness series, features color photography, dozens of excellent local maps and a district-by-district synopsis of attractions in both Provence and the Riviera, including Avignon, Arles, Marseille, Nice and Cannes. (FRN18, $23.00)
Eyewitness Handbooks, Mushrooms • Gary Lincoff • Thomas Laessoe NATURAL HISTORY • 1998 • PAPER • 256 PAGES A comprehensive guide to mushrooms around the world featuring 2300 color photographs. The book depicts 500 species of mushroom, plus information about fruiting season, edibility, and natural habitat. (FG54, $18.95)
Eyewitness Phrase Book, French • Eyewitness Guides LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 2003 • PAPER • 144 PAGES A pocket phrasebook and mini-dictionary to getting around in French, mai oui. Organized thematically (FRN263, $8.00)
Families of the Vine, Seasons Among the Winemakers of Southwest France • Michael S. Sanders FOOD • 2006 • PAPER • 265 PAGES Ever heard of the stylish, savory wines of Clos Triguedina -- or even of the Auxerrois grape (AKA Malbec) or of the ravages of phylloxera? Never mind. You'll still delight at Michael Sanders' absorbing account of the wine and winemakers of Cahors in Southwest France, where some families have held the same vineyards for generations. The book is a sequel of sorts to his warmly observed account of a year in the kitchen of La Recreation, also in the Lot (From Here, You Can't See Paris, FRN478, $13.95). Reservations recommended. (FRN479, $13.95)
The Feasting Season • Nancy Coons LITERATURE • 2007 • PAPER Living in the Lorraine region of France with her two small children and a neglectful husband, American travel writer Meg Parker receives the assignment of a lifetime when she is asked to write a guidebook on French history, but her joy is tempered when she discovers that she must deal with Jean-Jacques, the scruffy, bossy photographer who has also been assigned to the project. (FRN667, $13.95)
First Great Triumph, How Five Americans Made Their Country a World Power • Warren Zimmermann HISTORY • 2002 • HARD COVER • 576 PAGES A history of John Hay, Captain Alfred T. Mahan, Elihu Root, Henry Cabot Lodge, and Theodore Roosevelt and the turn-of-the-century American expansionist policy that they perpetrated. Zimmermann is a former ambassador and veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service. (WAR84, $30.00)
Floating Through France, Life Between Locks on the Canal Du Midi • Barb Euser TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2006 • PAPER • 200 PAGES A lovely collection, evoking the dreamy French countryside along the banks of the Canal du Midi, Europe's oldest functioning canal. The essays and poems are the reflections of a group of writers who slipped along the canal together in two old boats in the summer of 2005. (FRN572, $14.95)
Fodor's Exploring France • Adam Ruck GUIDEBOOK • 2008 • PAPER • 288 PAGES With its many photographs, great introductory chapters and practical travel information, this book is an excellent overview of Italy and its attractions for visitors. Featuring separate sections on suggested places to visit, recommended walks, practical information, descriptions of restaurants and hotels, ratings of sights, and a chronology of historic events. (FRN742, $22.00)
Fodor's Exploring Provence • Nick Hanna GUIDEBOOK • 2008 • PAPER • 288 PAGES With its many photographs, great introductory chapters and practical travel information, this book is an excellent overview of Italy and its attractions for visitors. Featuring separate sections on suggested places to visit, recommended walks, practical information, descriptions of restaurants and hotels, ratings of sights, and a chronology of historic events. (FRN743, $22.00)
Fodor's France • Fodor's GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 896 PAGES An excellent all-around guidebook to the history, culture and attractions of France. (FRN180, $24.99)
Fodor's Paris • Rach Klein GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 488 PAGES A practical, popular guide featuring full color photos, maps and plenty of information on hotels, restaurants, attractions and activities. (FRN716, $19.99)
Fodor's See It France • Fodors GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 488 PAGES An inaugural volume in this new line of guides by Fodor's this book is notable for its especially vibrant presentation of the country. Each page displays full-color photos accompanied by much useful information on how to eat, sleep, shop, and sightsee in France. (FRN459, $24.99)
Food, A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present • Jean Louis Flandrin • Massimo Montanari • Albert Sonnenfeld FOOD • 2000 • PAPER • 624 PAGES First published in French, this is a social and cultural history of food and eating customs, organized chronologically from prehistoric times to today. (CUL04, $25.00)
France and the French, A Modern History • Rod Kedward CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2007 • PAPER • 736 PAGES A sweeping, in-depth history of France from 1900 to the present day, from the disasterous world wars to the crumbling of the empire to France's modern place in the European Union. (FRN573, $24.95)
France Atlas • Michelin Travel Publications 2009 • PAPER • 432 PAGES Published annually, this up-to-date, detailed spiral-bound atlas, with distances, detailed index and bright, clear cartography, is an authoritative reference and planning guide for touring France. With a section of city plans. (FRN663, $35.95)
France Bicycling Map 906 • Institut Geographique National MAP This country map shows Randonnees a Velo thoughout France at a scale of 1:1,000,000. Two Sides. 40x48 inches. (FRN685, $12.95)
France Centre Map 518 • Michelin Travel Publications MAP A colorful map of central France, including the Loire valley, Tours, Orleans and Bourges, at a scale of 1:200,000. Two Sides. 39x52 inches. (FRN241, $11.95)
France on the Brink, A Great Civilization Faces the New Century • Jonathan Fenby CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1999 • PAPER • 449 PAGES • COMING IN A timely cultural portrait by a British journalist, Francophile and, since 1995, editor of Hong Kong's South China Morning Post. It's a lively account, interweaving current events, travel, commentary history and culture. A practiced journalist with a 40-year history in France, Fenby is a terrific guide to the Gallic character. Apart from his obvious wit and love of life, Fenby's addiitonal credentials include a French wife -- and a French Order of Merit. (FRN175, $16.95)
Franche-Comte Map • Michelin Travel Publications A detailed map of Franche-Comte, centered on Besancon, at a scale of 1:275,000. (FRN505, $12.95)
The French Century • Brian Moynahan HISTORY • 2007 • HARD COVER • 480 PAGES An illustrated history of modern France, one in a series of well-edited documentary photoalbums illuminating the events, people and drama of a modern nation. (FRN689, $39.95)
The French Encounter with Africans: White Response to Blacks, 1530-1880 • William Cohen HISTORY • 2003 • PAPER • 360 PAGES A bold study of European perceptions of West Africans from the early years of the slave trade up through the age of European imperialism. (AFR160, $24.95)
French English Bilingual Visual Dictionary • DK Publishing LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 2005 • PAPER • 360 PAGES With thousands of neatly arranged color photographs, this compact book is impressively comprehensive, covering everything from the basics of le corps (body) to the vocabulary of la buanderie (utility room). With a handy reference section in the back. (FRN520, $14.95)
French Gastronomy • Jean-Robert Pitte • Jody Gladding FOOD • 2002 • HARD COVER • 176 PAGES In this illuminating short book, Jean-Robert Pitte, ardent gastronome and proud French citizen, attributes his country's culinary prowess to its diverse and fertile geography -- and its fussy absolutist monarchs. (FRN346, $35.00)
French in 10 Minutes a Day with CD-Rom • Kristine K. Kershul LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 2007 • PAPER • 138 PAGES A workbook for the beginner. It's reminiscent of early language primers for elementary school children and an excellent way to master basic conversational French. With 150 sticky labels for common objects, flashcards, and a take-along laminated pocket pal with essential vocabulary. A good supplement to classes or a language program on tape. (FRN260, $26.95)
French Lessons, Adventures with Knife, Fork and Corkscrew • Peter Mayle TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2002 • PAPER • 240 PAGES Mayle leaves his beloved Provence behind and sets out to experience gastronomic pleasures available at food festivals and celebrations throughout France. (FRN474, $15.00)
French Provincial Cooking • Elizabeth David • Julia Child FOOD • 1999 • PAPER • 524 PAGES More than just a cookbook, David's classic, originally published in the 1960s and hugely influential, includes a long introduction on the origins of food traditions in France, and much historical information, commentary and regional geography throughout. (FRN174, $18.00)
French Revolutions, Cycling the Tour De France • Tim Moore TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2003 • PAPER • 277 PAGES In this ill-advised escapade, British humorist, travel writer -- and woefully inexperienced cyclist -- Moore (Frost on my Moustache) tackles the Tour de France. His lightweight account is great fun and you can't help but admire his determination. He didn't actually compete in the race, but he did finish (several weeks ahead of the actual event) the entire course. Apart from making hilarious fun of himself, Moore includes extended riffs on the history of the race and some its more famous personalities, wacky travelogue, and brief character sketches of headstrong proprietresses and shop clerks. (FRN387, $15.99)
The French Wars of Religion, 1562-1629 • Mack P. Holt HISTORY • 2005 • PAPER • 253 PAGES A lively social history of the French civil wars of the 16th and 17th centuries geared for undergraduate students. Holt, who revised and expanded his original text for this edition, balances his interest in Burgndy with the rest of France. (FRN560, $33.00)
French, A Language Map • Kristine K. Kershul LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 1999 • PLASTIC CARD This durable, foldout card, featuring 1,000 words and phrases, works as a quick reference for travelers. (FRN525, $7.95)
Frommer's Portable Paris 2008 • Darwin Porter GUIDEBOOK • 2009 • PAPER • 181 PAGES A practical travel guide featuring excellent annotated listings of what to do and where to eat and sleep. (FRN715, $12.99)
The Gallic War • Julius Caesar • Carolyn Hammond HISTORY • 2008 • PAPER • 260 PAGES Julius Caesar's autobiographical account of the Roman campaign against the Gauls, and the first invasions of Britain and Germany. (FRN498, $9.95)
The Garden of Eden • Ernest Hemingway LITERATURE • 1995 • PAPER • 256 PAGES Set on the Cote d'Azur in the 1920s, this posthumous novel traces the disintegration of young marriage, when both fall in love with the same woman. Not Hemingway's best work, but an interesting portrait of power dynamics and the desire to control. (FRN652, $15.00)
Gauguin • Robert Goldwater ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2004 • PAPER • 128 PAGES A nice series of 116 reproductions of Gauguin's major works, nearly half of which are in color. Paintings, woodcuts and letters by the artist are all represented. (FRN281, $19.95)
Gauguin and the Nabis, Prophets of Modernism • Arthur Ellridge ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1995 • PAPER • 223 PAGES Ellridge explains Gauguin's influences on a group of artists studying at the Academie Julian in Paris in 1889, who named themselves the Nabis. With 164 full-color reproductions. (ART22, $27.50)
The Gothic Cathedral • Christopher Wilson ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2005 • PAPER • 304 PAGES An illustrated overview of gothic cathedrals, their history, design and construction, covering the masterpieces built from the 12th to the 16th century. With photographs and diagrams. (EUR80, $34.95)
The Gothic Cathedral, Origins of Gothic Architecture and the Medieval Concept of Order • Otto Georg Von Simson ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1988 • PAPER • 364 PAGES A scholarly examination of the Medieval cathedral as a representation of the supernatural and divine. (EUR246, $29.95)
The Gothic Enterprise, A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral • Robert A. Scott ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2005 • PAPER • 294 PAGES Scott, whose interest in the history of cathedrals began when he first saw the magnificent Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Salisbury, England, takes his reader on a historical, architectural and sociological tour of the magnificent spires and stained-glass windows that dot the landscape of Europe. It's an accessible, personable overview. (EUR190, $21.95)
The GR5 Trail, Through the French Alps, Lake Geneva to Nice • Paddy Dillon GUIDEBOOK • 2008 • PAPER • 314 PAGES A compact guide to hiking in the French Alps, covering the GR5 trail from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean. Illustrated throughout with maps and photographs, it's a classic, revised, guide to the route. (FRN406, $27.45)
Grands Vins, The Finest Chateaux of Bordeaux and Their Wines • Clive Coates FOOD • 1995 • HARD COVER • 816 PAGES From Britain's master wine critic comes this focused study of the Bordeaux region of France and its rich tradition of producing fine wine. Coates includes detailed information on Bordeaux's geography, chateaux, and varieties of grapes. (FRN210, $65.00)
Great Cathedrals • Bernhard Schutz ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2002 • HARD COVER Scultz focuses on the towering Gothic cathedrals of the Holy Roman Empire in this beautifully photographed tribute. Organized by country, the book features 271 color photographs of the cathedrals of France, England, Spain, Italy and Germany. With introductory essays, map and floor plans. (EUR211, $110.00)
A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America • Stacy Schiff HISTORY • 2005 • HARD COVER • 489 PAGES A lively, illuminating chronicle of Franklin's derring-do, clever maneuvering and brinkmanship in France, 1776-1785. The Pulitzer-prize winning Schiff shows in splendid, anecdotal detail who without the French -- and without Franklin to convince them to join the fledgling republic -- America would not have gained its independence. (USA129, $30.00)
The Guns of August • Barbara Tuchman HISTORY • 1994 • PAPER • 510 PAGES A prize-winning history of the fateful days of August, 1914, as Europe headed towards World War 1. (EUR123, $17.00)
Gustave Courbet • Sarah Faunce ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1993 • HARD COVER • 128 PAGES A wonderfully illustrated study of Gustave Courbet, the 19th century French realist painter. Nearly 100 plates of his paintings (40 in color) are accompanied by commentary from Sarah Faunce. This book is a good introduction to his work and his influence on the great French Impressionists. (FRN155, $24.95)
Gustave Moreau, Magic and Symbols • Genevieve Lacambre ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1999 • PAPER • 128 PAGES A pocket-size biography of Moreau, this volume in the acclaimed "Discoveries" series discusses the Symbolist's influence on the development of 20th-century art -- as well as the myths, literature and art that were his own influences. Teacher to Matisse and Rouault, Moreau was a major figure in 19th-century French art. This book features many color illustrations and excerpts from the artist's letters and other writings. (FRN335, $12.95)
Haute Cuisine, How the French Invented the Culinary Profession • Amy B. Trubek FOOD • 2001 • PAPER • 200 PAGES Written by an anthropologist who teaches at the New England Culinary Institute, this scholarly study probes the origins and evolution of French cuisine and its influence on modern menus throughout the world. (FRN320, $19.95)
Henri Matisse 1869-1954, Master of Color • Volkmar Essers ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2000 • PAPER • 96 PAGES This slim book, an entry in Taschen's popular Basic Art series, features 300 color reproductions of Matisse's work along with brief accompanying text. (ART45, $9.99)
Here Is Where We Meet • John Berger LITERATURE • 2006 • PAPER • 256 PAGES This novel weaves a portrait of several European countries through encounters with the dead, from the narrator's mother, whom he discovers on a park bench in Lisbon, to a childhood friend wandering a market in Krakow. "The dead don't stay where they are buried," the protagonist's mother tells him, and this becomes the mantra for this most unusual journey through Europe's history and people. (EUR189, $15.00)
Here Is Where We Meet • John Berger LITERATURE • 2006 • PAPER • 256 PAGES This novel weaves a portrait of several European countries through encounters with the dead, from the narrator's mother, whom he discovers on a park bench in Lisbon, to a childhood friend wandering a market in Krakow. "The dead don't stay where they are buried," the protagonist's mother tells him, and this becomes the mantra for this most unusual journey through Europe's history and people. (EUR189, $15.00)
History of Food • Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat • Anthea Bell FOOD • 1994 • PAPER • 801 PAGES A scholarly history of food and its role in shaping culture since the dawn of civilization. Translated from the French (and, admittedly, Francophone in its focus), it is an extensive survey of world cuisine and its evolution. (CUL05, $32.95)
The History of the Franks • Gregory of Tours • Lewis Thorpe HISTORY • 1977 • PAPER • 720 PAGES A history of life in France under the rule of the Merovingian Kings, written by the sixth-century bishop Gregory of Tours and ably translated by Lewis Thorpe. (FRN529, $20.00)
Holy Blood, Holy Grail • Michael Baigent • Richard Leigh • Henry Lincoln RELIGION • 2004 • PAPER • 496 PAGES A provocative investigation of the French town of Rennes-le Chateau and a set of coded scrolls supposedly found there that may reveal secrets about the life of Jesus. This is conspiracy theory at its most elaborate, incorporating Templars, Freemasons, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Rosicrucians, the Priory of Sion and more. The authors rest their oft-disputed claims on debunked documents planted in French National records by Pierre Plantard. The same documents inspired Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code (See the New York Times article on 2/22/04 by L. Miller for more). (REL14, $15.00)
Horse of Pride, Life in a Breton Village • Pierre-Jakez Helias • June Guicharnaud LITERATURE • 1980 • PAPER • 368 PAGES A richly detailed book about Breton lives, culture and folklore looking back to 1908 to 1939. Not exactly a memoir nor anthropology, Helias's autobiographical stories of peasant life have qualities of both. Most distinctively, the book evokes ways of life among the peasants of Brittany long since disappeared in rich, earthy detail. With black-and-white photographs. Claude Chabrol made a film of the book (a bestseller in France), his 32nd. (FRN344, $37.00)
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame • Victor Hugo LITERATURE • 2010 • PAPER • 510 PAGES • FAMILY Evocative of medieval France, this is the compelling story of the deformed bell-ringer Quasimodo, the gypsy Esmeralda and their struggles with Dom Frollo, the cruel, lusty archdeacon. (FRN124, $5.95)
The Hundred Years War: The English in France, 1337-1453 • Desmond Seward HISTORY • 1999 • PAPER • 304 PAGES An engrossing portrait of the battles, personalities and society of Medieval England and France. A popular historian, this is but one of Seward's many books on Medieval Europe, dramatically told in vivid detail. (FRN329, $17.00)
I'll Always Have Paris, A Memoir • Art Buchwald BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1997 • PAPER • 236 PAGES A young columnist for the international edition of the "New York Herald Tribune," Art Buchwald traveled to Paris in the late 1940s and stayed in Europe for the next 15 years. This is his memoir of that time, an often humorous account of his adventures and the many people he met, including American expatriate writers Hemingway, Ginsberg and Wilder. The first half of the book deals exclusively with Buchwald's time in Paris, while the second half details his adventures in places such as Rome, London, Moscow, Warsaw and Istanbul. It follows his first memoir, "Leaving Home." (FRN188, $19.00)
Igor Stravinsky, An Autobiography • Igor Stravinsky BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1998 • PAPER • 176 PAGES A brief account of the life and work of Stravinsky (1882-1971), by the conductor himself, covering the first 50 years of his life in St. Petersburg, France and Switzerland. Originally published in 1956. (MUS18, $17.95)
Ile de France 514 • Michelin MAP A colorful and detailed map of the region surrounding Paris at a scale of 1:200,000. All of France is covered in 21 maps. One Side. 38x39 inches. (FRN169, $12.95)
Impressionism • James Henry Rubin ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1999 • PAPER • 446 PAGES An excellent illustrated survey of Impressionism in the "Art and Ideas" series. (FRN223, $29.95)
Impressionism • Belinda Thomson ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2000 • PAPER • 272 PAGES A readable account of the French Impressionist movement and its most notable artists, illustrated with color reproductions. Part of the "World of Art" series, this book's thoughtful analyses of individual works are illuminated by solid historical and cultural background. (FRN310, $16.95)
Impressionism, Art, Leisure, and Parisian Society • Robert L. Herbert ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1991 • PAPER • 324 PAGES A magnificently illustrated social history, this book shows the cafes, opera houses, dance halls and other places of entertainment and leisure that inspired some of the great Impressionist paintings. He brings mid 19th-century Paris to life with his insightful analysis and in 240 well chosen color illustrations. Scholarly and well written. (FRN117, $35.00)
In the South of France • Don Krohn ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1999 • HARD COVER • 117 PAGES • COMING IN Invoking artists and authors captivated by Provence and the south of France, photographer Don Krohn captures the magic light, rich colors and long traditions of the region. With an introduction to Provencal history and culture, generous excerpts from writers inspired by the south of France, and stunning color photographs. Krohn balances his portrayal of the landscapes, vineyards, fields and other natural features, with photographs of castles, medieval churches and chateaux. (FRN192, $39.95)
Indre et Loire Map • Michelin Travel Publications MAP • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE Map of Indre et Loire at a scale of 1:150,000. One Side. 35x44 inches. (FRN367, $9.95)
Insiders' French, Beyond the Dictionary • Eleanor Levieux • Michel Levieux LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 1999 • PAPER • 270 PAGES A phrasebook that functions as an introduction to the country itself. Two French nationals put their evolving language and its modern usage in culural, political and social context, while providing vocabulary and usage tips. (FRN699, $15.00)
Insight Guide France • Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 408 PAGES A full-color guide to the whole of France, with detailed features on the country's rich history and culture, and covering all the major cities and sights.A brand-new edition of Insight Guide France, with new features, new maps, and specially commissioned color-photographs throughout the guide. (FRN590, $23.99)
Insight Guide Southwest France • Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2012 • PAPER • 378 PAGES An illustrated survey of the people, culture and attractions of Southwest France from Bordeaux to the Pyrenees, Dordogne and Mediterranean coast. With excellent local maps throughout. (FRN340, $23.99)
Inspector Cadaver • Georges Simenon MYSTERY • 2007 • PAPER • 224 PAGES In an exploration of provincial French hypocrisy and snobbery, crime writer Simenon places Inspector Maigret against a rival detective from his past. (FRN719, $14.00)
The Jazz Age in France • Charles A. Riley HISTORY • 2004 • HARD COVER • 176 PAGES A handsomely illustrated overview. (FRN469, $45.00)
Joan of Arc • Mary Gordon BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2008 • PAPER • 208 PAGES Novelist Mary Gordon brings insight and an elegant prose style to the myth of the young girl who was Joan of Arc, meditating on the courageous and complex character and on her status as an icon. (FRN753, $15.00)
Joan of Arc, a Saint for All Reasons, Studies in Myth and Politics • DominiquE Goy-Blanquet BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2003 • HARD COVER • 192 PAGES Goy-Blanquet explores, from a literary and political standpoint, the mythology of this revered saint as a uniquely malleable trope. (FRN749, $110.00)
Joan of Arc, Her Story • Regine Pernoud • Marie-Vronique Clin BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1999 • PAPER • 330 PAGES This well researched history of Joan of Arc integrates documentary evidence to help readers develop an informed image of the Maid of Orleans and the influences of her time. Scholars Pernoud and Clin provide a meticulous account of the "historical Joan" through trial transcripts, letters, and other sources which present Joan as she appeared to her contemporaries. It's the first English translation of the best-selling French edition. (FRN202, $18.95)
Joan of Arc, Personal Recollections • Mark Twain LITERATURE • 1989 • PAPER • 452 PAGES Mark Twain's historical novel of Joan of Arc, drawing on his research and travels in France, first published in 1896. Struck by the 15th-century heroine's bravery and passion, it took Twain 12 years to complete "Personal Recollections," which he called his best work. The novel sticks closely to eyewitness and trial reports. (FRN199, $16.95)
Joan of Arc, The Image of Female Heroism • Marina Warner HISTORY • 1999 • PAPER • 349 PAGES Novelist and historian Marina Warner draws widely on literature, history, sources of the period, and modern scholars to create this elegant, thoughtful examination of Joan of Arc and her iconic image. (FRN553, $21.95)
Karen Brown's France, Charming Bed & Breakfasts • Clare Brown GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 321 PAGES A survey of highly recommended bed and breakfasts throghout France. (FRN277, $19.95)
Karen Brown's France, Exceptional Places to Stay & Itineraries • Karen Brown GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 395 PAGES A survey of inns, castles and other lodging of character, along with suggested itineraries and highlights of each region. (FRN275, $19.95)
Knopf Guide Louvre • Knopf Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2005 • PAPER • 360 PAGES A compact, highly illustrated guide to the museum and its art. (FRN649, $26.00)
Knopf Guide Paris • Knopf Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 529 PAGES A lavishly produced handbook to Paris, featuring dozens of maps and color photographs as well as good information on culture and history. Originally published in French by Gallimard. (FRN88, $28.95)
La Belle France, A Short History • Alistair Horne HISTORY • 2006 • PAPER • 544 PAGES A sequel to Seven Ages of Paris by the British historian and essayist, La Belle France (none too short) combines history, observation, anecdote and telling detail. It's an affectionate, personal overview. (FRN504, $19.95)
La Reine Margot • Alexandre Dumas LITERATURE • 2009 • PAPER • 524 PAGES Set in Paris in 1572 during the violent days of the French Wars of Religion, Dumas' novel tells the story of Marguerite de Valois' love affair with the Protestant La Mole and her marriage to Henry IV. (FRN558, $15.95)
Labyrinth • Kate Mosse LITERATURE • 2007 • PAPER • 515 PAGES In the Pyrenees mountains near Carcassonne, Alice, a volunteer at an archaeological dig, stumbles into a cave and makes a startling discovery -- two crumbling skeletons, strange writings on the walls, and the pattern of a labyrinth. Eight hundred years earlier, on the eve of a brutal crusade that will rip apart southern France, a young woman named Alais is given a ring and a mysterious book for safekeeping by her father. The book, he says, contains the secret of the true Grail, and the ring, inscribed with a labyrinth, will identify a guardian of the Grail. Now, as crusading armies gather outside the city walls of Carcassonne, it will take a tremendous sacrifice to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe. (FRN657, $15.00)
Lac d'Annecy Map • IGN 2003 • MAP This detailed walking map shows Lake d'Annecy and the immediate surroundings in the French Alps at a scale 1:25,000. The topographic map, which covers an area of approximately 12 x 9 miles, shows footpaths, huts and refuges, contour lines, GPS coordinates and attractions of local interest. One Side. 38x52 inches. (FRN489, $12.95)
The Land of My Fathers, A Son's Return to the Basque Country • Robert Laxalt • Joyce Laxalt CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1999 • HARD COVER • 136 PAGES A portrait of the Basque culture and people, as seen through the eyes of Nevada writer Robert Laxalt, who traveled through the land of his ancestors in the 60s. This book, based on Laxalt's journals and complemented by his wife's photographs, captures the folkways of village life in mid-20th century French Pyrenees. (FRN162, $21.00)
Languedoc-Roussillon Map • Michelin Travel Publications 2011 • MAP A frequently updated, detailed regional map at a scale of 1:200,000 by Michelin. With good topographic detail of southwest France, covering Perpignon, Beziers and the Canal du Midi. Two Sides. 39x52 inches. (FRN185, $11.95)
Larousse Gastronomique Recipe Collection • Librarie Larousse FOOD • 2006 • PAPER • 1536 PAGES Featuring some 2,500 recipes from the classic food reference, this boxed set is organized into four volumes : Meat, Poultry, and Game; Fish and Seafood; Vegetables and Salads; Desserts. The perfect addition to any cook's library. (FRN640, $60.00)
The Last Great Frenchman, A Life of General De Gaulle • Charles Williams BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1997 • PAPER • 544 PAGES Blending warm personal portrait with an analysis of French wartime politics, this popular biography illuminates the development of De Gaulle's particularly obstinant patriotism. (FRN748, $24.95)
Learn French the Fast and Fun Way • Elisabeth Leete LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 2003 • PAPER • 250 PAGES A practical guide to learning basic French, aimed squarely at the traveler. This workbook includes commonly used expressions, activities, diagrams, quizzes, flash cards, maps and other features to jazz up the basic phrasebook approach. With a pull-out, 32-page dictionary. (FRN182, $18.95)
Legends and Romances of Brittany • Lewis Spence LITERATURE • 1997 • PAPER • 448 PAGES The folklorist Lewis Spence compiled this broad anthology that draws on varying strains of the Breton tradition, including Arthurian legends, the lays of Marie de France and tales of Breton saints as well as more standard fairy stories. With chapters on the Breton people, their costume and customs. (FRN354, $11.95)
Les Miserables • Victor Hugo • Norman McAfee • Lee Fahnestock LITERATURE • 1987 • PAPER • 1463 PAGES • YOUNG ADULTS The classic tale of redemption set against the backdrop of the French Revolution. (FRN123, $7.95)
Letters of Vincent Van Gogh • Vincent Van Gogh • Mark Roskill ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1997 • PAPER A glimpse into the mind of tortured artist Vincent Van Gogh, this collection of his letters is a fascinating, often sad view of his thoughts on life and art. Most of the letters are written to his brother Theo, who supported Vincent up until his tragic suicide. (NTH22, $14.00)
Life and Food in the Basque Country • Maria Jose Sevilla FOOD • 1992 • PAPER • 170 PAGES A portrait of Basque life as seen through the people who practice its culinary traditions. Chapters profile the ways and history of Basque butchers, fishermen, housewives, kaiku-makers or society cooks, and others associated with food traditions. With a few recipes scattered throughout. (SPN125, $14.95)
The Life of a Simple Man • Emile Guillaumin • Eugene Weber BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1995 • PAPER • 231 PAGES The autobiographical account of a 19th-century French peasant by his observant son. Guillaumin's farm house in Ygrande is today a museum. (FRN472, $15.95)
A Life of Her Own • Emilie Carles BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1992 • PAPER • 271 PAGES This memoir of life in the French Alps was a French bestseller when first published in 1977. Born in 1900, Carnes tells of her childhood, her life on the farm, her career as a teacher and her involvement in political and feminist movements, including a popular campaign to stop a highway proposed for her Alpine valley. (FRN468, $16.00)
Life With Picasso • Francoise Gilot BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1989 • PAPER • 352 PAGES This intimate memoir is as much about Picasso's art as it is about Gilot's experiences with Picasso as a lover and companion. She met Picasso in Paris in 1943, during the German occupation of France, when she was 21 and he was 62. For ten years, she lived with the artist, gave birth to two of his children, and served as his model. She recounts their life together with careful attention to detail, combining memoir, art history and romance. (ART42, $16.00)
Limoges Gueret Map • Institut Geographique National MAP A local "Carte de Promendade" at a scale of 1:100,000, covering hiking trails, bike paths, churches, museums, chateaux and other activities. One Side. 35x48 inches. (FRN696, $11.95)
Little Money Street, In Search of Gypsies and their Music in the South of France • Fernanda Eberstadt CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2006 • HARD COVER • 242 PAGES Fernanda Eberstadt paints an intimate portrait of the everyday lives and especially of the music of the gitanes, or Gypsies of France in this warm personal account of her time in Perpignan. (FRN624, $24.95)
Lock 14 • Georges Simenon MYSTERY • 2006 • PAPER • 224 PAGES Simenon, one of the world's most successful crime writers, plunges Maigret into the unfamiliar canal world of shabby bars and shadowy towpaths, drawing together the strands of a tragic case of lost identity. (FRN585, $13.00)
Loir-Et-Cher Map • IGN MAP Detailed regional map published by IGN, the French National Geographic Institute. One Side. 35x44 inches. (FRN583, $12.95)
Loire Valley Map 517 • Michelin Travel Publications MAP A map of the Loire region of France in the series published by Michelin series, at a scale of 1:200,000. One Side. 40 X 61 inches. (FRN302, $12.95)
Loiret, Loire et Cher Map • Michelin Travel Publications 2002 • MAP A regional traveler's map at a scale of 1:150,000 centered on Oreans. (FRN524, $9.95)
Lonely Planet Cycling France • Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK • 2009 • PAPER • 480 PAGES Here's a practical, cycle-themed guide to France, offering the usual Lonely Planet detail on where to stay and eat -- plus the best bike routes and an overview of the Tour de France. (FRN356, $24.99)
Lonely Planet Europe on a Shoestring • Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK • 2009 • PAPER • 1284 PAGES A practical guide to traveling Europe on a budget. (EUR137, $27.99)
Lonely Planet France • Steve Fallon GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 1012 PAGES A practical guide to all of France featuring 147 maps, a good overview of culture, history and nature, and plenty of information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. Brighter and better organized, with detailed color maps, crisp red icons for sections on sleeping, eating, shopping and activities, and well-deployed color throughout. (FRN235, $26.99)
Lonely Planet French Phrasebook • Marie-Helene Girard • Anny Monet LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 2012 • PAPER • 272 PAGES This handy phrasebook focuses on pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler. (FRN120, $8.99)
The Lost Upland, Stories of Southwest France • W.S. Merwin LITERATURE • 2005 • PAPER • 320 PAGES • COMING IN Three richly evocative stories of life in a Dordogne village by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Merwin, one of our finest living poets. Originally published in 1992, the book is steeped in history, food and personality. The author owns a house in Loubressac overlooking the Dordogne. (FRN11, $16.00)
Louise De La Valliere • Alexandre Dumas • David Coward LITERATURE • 1998 • PAPER • 768 PAGES The middle book in the Musketeer's trilogy of love and adventure, set in the regin of Louis XIV (and based on actual historical events). The story, which begins with The Vicomte de Bragelonne, or, Ten Years After, ends with his well known The Man in the Iron Mask. An Oxford World Classic. (FRN332, $16.95)
Luberon, Parc Naturel Regional Map • IGN 2002 • MAP A detailed map of Luberon Regional Park in the mountains of Provence at a scale of 1:60,000. The topographic map shows bicyling and walking trails, recreational facilities and attractions (with text in French only). One Side. 38x52 inches. (FRN442, $14.95)
Lust for Life • Irving Stone LITERATURE • 1989 • PAPER • 487 PAGES Emotionally charged, controversial and utterly readable, this well known, fictionalized biography probes the life of Van Gogh from his auspicious beginnings as a London art dealer to his death at 37. A real page-turner, this novel evokes the painter's struggles with madness and poverty. (NTH18, $18.00)
Ma Gastronomie • Fernand Point FOOD • 2008 • HARD COVER Point's classic of modern French cuisine has been brought back in a handsome hard cover edition. (FRN740, $40.00)
Madame Bovary • Lydia Davis • Gustave Flaubert LITERATURE • 2002 • PAPER • 342 PAGES The landmark novel, controversial in its day, of a woman who suffers in search of relief from her humdrum life (and boring doctor husband) in a provincial village outside Rouen. Heart wrenching. In this landmark new translation of Gustave Flaubert's masterwork, award-winning writer and translator Lydia Davis honors the nuances and particulars of Flaubert's legendary prose style. (FRN301, $16.00)
Made in France, A Shopper's Guide • Laura Morelli GUIDEBOOK • 2008 • PAPER • 208 PAGES Scented gloves, handmade umbrellas, angelic porcelain, local digestifs: everything listed in Morelli's intricate guidebook is crafted by hand. Learn where to find lavender-and-rosemary infused hair oil, the secret to keeping your hair and skin healthy during Southern France's warmest months! (FRN706, $24.95)
The Maginot Line 1928-45 • William Allcorn • Chris Taylor HISTORY • 2003 • PAPER • 64 PAGES A brief, illustrated overview of the the Maginot Line, the series of fortifications built by France in the 1930s to protect its borders with Germany and Italy. Featuring plans, illustrations and modern images. (FRN487, $18.95)
Maigret and the Man on the Boulevard • Georges Simenon MYSTERY • 2007 • PAPER • 224 PAGES When Inspector Maigret investigates the brutal murder of a man found stabbed to death in an alley, he is forced to unravel the secret life of a victim who had sought an escape from his stifling conventional existence. (FRN720, $14.00)
Making of the Middle Ages • Richard W. Southern HISTORY • 1953 • PAPER A classic history of 10th to 13th century Europe, covering culture, politics and major personalites. (EUR105, $21.00)
Making Paradise: Art, Modernity, and the Myth of the French Riviera • Katherine Silver ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2001 • HARD COVER • 192 PAGES A scholarly history of the Cote d'Azur from 1890 to the present with a focus on its impact on painters, architects and sculptors from the Neoimpressionists through the Fauves to contemporary artists. With 100 illustrations, 58 in color. Published in conjunction with an April to July 2001 exhibit at the AXA Gallery in New York. (FRN296, $39.95)
Mammals of Europe • Priscilla Barrett • David W. MacDonald FIELD GUIDE • 2002 • PAPER • 320 PAGES Published by Princeton, this is a field guide to land and marine mammals throughout Europe, both endemic and introduced. With more than 600 color illustrations of over 200 mammals, it's a comprehensive handbook, with detailed descriptions, range maps and commentary on behavior. (FG61, $38.50)
A Man's Head • Georges Simenon MYSTERY • 2006 • PAPER • 192 PAGES This psychological thriller evokes the atmosphere of Parisian luxury hotels, seedy bars and dark alleys as Inspector Maigret tracks a killer on the run. (FRN586, $14.00)
Manet • Giles Neret ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2002 • PAPER • 96 PAGES A concise, illustrated survey of the French painter, featuring color reproductions of his work. (ART51, $9.99)
Manet and the Sea • Juliet Wilson-Bareau • David Degener ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2003 • HARD COVER • 260 PAGES A handsome collection of Manet's sea paintings with accompanying essays by leading scholars. Published in conjunction with a with an exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the catalog features color reproductions of 100 painting and drawings. (ART56, $75.00)
Manet's Modernism, or the Face of Painting in the 1860s • Michael Fried ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1998 • PAPER • 648 PAGES Seeking to interpret Manet's works in the context of how they were initially recieved, Michael Fried has created an important study of the artist's influence and his place in history of painting. (FRN379, $65.00)
Manet/Velazquez, the French Taste for Spanish Painting • Gary Tinterow ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2003 • HARD COVER • 600 PAGES The sumptuous oversize catalog for the 2003 exhibit on Manet and Velazquez, featuring 150 color reproductions of works by French and Spanish artists as well as examples of American artists influenced by the Golden Age in Spain. (ART28, $75.00)
Marie Antoinette, The Journey • Antonia Fraser BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2002 • PAPER Fraser's authoritative, popular portrait of Marie Antoinette and the the court at Versailles, the source for Sofia Coppola's 2006 movie. (FRN632, $17.95)
Markets of Provence, A Culinary Tour of Southern France • Dixon Long • Ruthanne Long • David Wakely • Patricia Wells FOOD • 1996 • HARD COVER • 144 PAGES • COMING IN A celebration of France and its food, this book covers the cuisine and markets of seven towns in Provence, with descriptive text, recipes and color photographs. It combines the best of a cookbook, photo essay and travelogue. A different place is featured each day of the week from Monday to Sunday including tiny Bonnieux, bustling Aix-en-Provence, Cadenet, La Tour D'Aigues, Saint-Remy, Apt and L'Isle-Sur-La-Sourgue. With color photographs and a map. (FRN247, $22.00)
Mary Cassatt, A Life • Nancy Mowll Mathews BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1998 • PAPER • 394 PAGES An illustrated biography of the compelling, contradictory Mary Cassatt by art historian Nancy Mowll Mathews. (FRN592, $22.50)
Mary Cassatt, Painter of Modern Women • Griselda Pollock ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1998 • PAPER • 224 PAGES This fully illustrated monograph in the "World of Art" series traces the life, art and influence of Cassatt, the American painter who became a "French" impressionist. The author, a renowned art critic and feminist, teaches at the University of Leeds. (FRN303, $19.95)
Mary Cassatt, Paintings and Prints • Frank Getlein ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1980 • PAPER • 158 PAGES 72 full-color illustrations of Cassatt's work with accompanying biographical text by art historian Frank Getlein. (FRN591, $19.95)
Mastering the Art of French Cooking • Julia Child FOOD • 2001 • PAPER • 752 PAGES The classic and immensely popular cookbook on preparing authentic French meals in American kitchens with American ingredients. Includes more than 100 instructional drawings. (FRN644, $40.00)
The Masterpiece • Emile Zola LITERATURE • 1999 • PAPER • 428 PAGES Zola's novel tells of the downfall of a painter in 19th-century Paris, based on his childhood friend Cezanne. This classic is evocative of the artistic life in turn-of-the-century France. It was also the novel that would end their friendship. (FRN227, $12.95)
Matisse: The Wonder of Color • Xavier Girard • I. Mark Paris • Henri Matisse ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1994 • PAPER • 175 PAGES Using excerpts from interviews and Matisse's own notes and letters, this book uncovers little-known facts about this great artist. Part of the "Discoveries" series, it contains 212 illustrations, over half of which are in color. (FRN146, $12.95)
The Mays of Ventadorn, Tales from Southwest France • W.S. Merwin TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2002 • PAPER • 192 PAGES A shapely memoir and meditation by the great poet and author of The Lost Upland: Stories of Southwest France. Merwin -- who has had a farmhouse in the region for decades -- writes of rural traditions, his own love of the region, and, specifically, of the narrative poems and songs of the troubadours. The title refers to the ruined 12-century chateaux of Bernart de Ventadorn in southern France. A book in the series National Geographic Directions. (FRN341, $20.00)
The Measure of Her Powers, An M.F.K. Fisher Reader • M. F. K. Fisher FOOD • 2010 • PAPER • 432 PAGES A fat, judicious selection of M.F.K. Fisher's writings, which spanned a lifetime and chronicled adventures (culinary and otherwise) in France, Switzerland and Italy, on shipboard and in her native California. A supremely wise woman and an unsurpassed prose stylist, M.F.K. is here represented in all her witty, sad and celebratory incarnations. Edited with minimal interference by Dominique Gioia, this volume also includes a brief introductory memoir of Fisher by her acolyte Ruth Reichl, who once went on a pilgrimage to Fisher's Sonoma cottage -- only to find that Fisher herself cooked simply, not extravagantly at all. (CUL01, $21.95)
Medieval Art • Marilyn Stokstad ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2004 • PAPER • 446 PAGES Filled with hundreds of illustrations, this comprehensive survey of medieval art throughout Europe describes the social and cultural significance of many of the works of the period. (EUR91, $69.00)
Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe • C.H. Lawrence HISTORY • 2000 • PAPER • 321 PAGES A study of the economic, social, and cultural roles of religious orders in medieval Western Europe. Expanded third edition. (EUR197, $55.00)
Mediterranean Summer, A Season on France's Cote D'Azur and Italy's Costa Bella • David Shalleck TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2008 • PAPER • 352 PAGES A young American chef recounts his alluring, evocative summer voyage on the Mediterranean and into the enchanting seaside towns of France's Cote d'Azur and Italy's Costa Bella aboard an Italian billionaire couple's spectacular yacht. (MED111, $13.99)
Metz Verdun Luxembourg Map • IGN MAP A colorful, regional map of France, covering from Metz to Luxembourg at a scale of 1:100,000. One Side. 38x52 inches. (FRN316, $11.95)
Michelin Green Guide Alsace, Lorraine, Champagne • Michelin Travel Publications GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 480 PAGES A thorough introduction to Alsace, Lorraine and Champagne in the classic Michelin style, featuring brief descriptions of all the major attractions, along with fantastic maps. (FRN157, $21.99)
Michelin Green Guide Auvergne Rhone Valley • Michelin Travel Publications GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 448 PAGES With the same focus on driving tours, detailed maps and the Michelin star system, the venerable Green Guides are even better -- organized regionally, in color and with an overview of history, art and culture. (FRN214, $21.99)
Michelin Green Guide Brittany • Michelin Travel Publications GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 448 PAGES A thorough introduction to Brittany in the classic Michelin style, featuring brief descriptions of all the major attractions from Les Abers to Vitre. With a good general introduction, select restaurant and hotel listings, and excellent regional and city maps. (FRN90, $21.99)
Michelin Green Guide Burgundy / Jura • Michelin Travel Publications GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 469 PAGES A short introduction to the region in the classic Michelin style, featuring brief descriptions of all the major attractions. Includes Beaune, Chalone-sur-Saone, Tournus, Macon, Cormatin and Dijon. (FRN164, $21.99)
Michelin Green Guide Dordogne Berry Limousin • Michelin Travel Publications GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 400 PAGES A comprehensive driving guide to the Dordogne and neighboring rural regions of Berry and Limousin. With suggested tours from Sancerre to Vahors, this Green Guide includes a good general overview of the region, site plans of major attractions, rating system and outstanding local maps. An excellent planning guide, especially useful for the independent traveler. Beware: as wonderful as they are, Green Guides do not include information on where to sleep or eat. (FRN15, $21.99)
Michelin Green Guide France • Michelin Travel Publications GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 528 PAGES A compact guide to France, featuring dozens of excellent full-color regional and town maps. Organized alphabetically, villages and attractions are rated and described. A good overall guide to the sites, and an invaluable resource for anyone planning an independent journey. (FRN252, $21.99)
Michelin Green Guide French Alps • Michelin Travel Publications GUIDEBOOK • 2009 • PAPER • 448 PAGES A compact, practical guide to the region in the classic Michelin style, organized alphabetically by town and featuring brief descriptions of all the major attractions. The dozens of local maps are especially useful. Not just a driving guide, it includes footpaths and suggested hikes from Mount Blanc to the Grand Canyon du Verdon. With a brief section of practical travel information. (FRN197, $21.99)
Michelin Green Guide French Atlantic Coast • Michelin Travel Publications GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 474 PAGES A practical guide to France's west coast from Nantes and La Rochelle south to Biarritz. With a good fold-out map. Among the region's many attractions are the wines of Bordeaux, sites associated with Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the abundant Romanesque and Medieval architecture. The pilgrims' route to Santiago de Campostela also passes through the region. With a 60-page general overview, brief section of practical travel information and major sites, arranged alphabetically from Agen to Vouvant. The 50 detailed city and local maps are especially helpful. (FRN207, $21.99)
Michelin Green Guide French Riviera • Michelin Travel Publications GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 384 PAGES A comprehensive driving guide to the Cote D'Azur in the Michelin series, organized alphabetically and featuring detailed local maps of each region, city or village. With suggested tours, site plans of major attractions and a rating system. An excellent planning guide, especially useful for the independent traveler. (FRN271, $21.99)
Michelin Green Guide Languedoc Roussillon Tarn Gorges, • Michelin Travel Publications GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 561 PAGES A venerable driving guide to the Langedoc region by Michelin, organized alphabetically and featuring detailed local maps. The green guides focus on sightseeing, including suggested tours, site plans of major attractions and a starred rating system. It includes the Pyrennes, Cathar fortresses, Perpignan, Carcassonne, Toulouse and Montpellier. (FRN265, $21.99)
Michelin Green Guide Northern France and the Paris Region • Michelin Travel Publications GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 479 PAGES A guidebook in the popular Michelin series, covering Paris and Northern France, noted for it's detail and helpful maps. (FRN273, $21.99)
Michelin Green Guide Provence • Michelin Travel Publications GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 384 PAGES A comprehensive driving guide to Provence in the Michelin series, organized alphabetically and featuring detailed local maps of each region, city or village. With suggested tours, site plans of major attractions and a rating system. An excellent planning guide, especially useful for the independent traveler. Beware: as wonderful as they are, Green Guides do not include information on where to sleep or eat. (FRN23, $21.99)
Michelin Red Guide France • Michelin Travel Publications GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • HARD COVER • 2075 PAGES The 102-year-old bible to dining and lodging in France, revised annually, is now published, for the first time, in English. With city maps, telephone numbers, addresses, and a complex series of categories. In French. A new edition is published each spring -- we'll send you the latest available. (FRN253, $29.99)
Midi Pyrenees Map 525 • Michelin Travel Publications MAP A nicely detailed (1:200,000), frequently updated regional map of the central Pyrenees, centered on Toulouse. All of France is covered in 21 maps. Two Sides. 39x56 inches. (FRN163, $12.99)
Miles from Nowhere, A Round the World Bicycle Adventure • Barbara Savage TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 1985 • PAPER • 340 PAGES The adventures of a beginning cyclist and her husband who cover 23,000 miles and 25 countries in two years. The personal, unpretentious writing captures the colorful characters that cross the path of this young couple and the flavor of the countries they traverse. Sadly, Barbara Savage died in a cycling accident training for the triathlon upon her return home as the book was going to press. (BCY02, $18.95)
Modern Art, Impressionism to Post-Modernism • David Britt ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2008 • PAPER • 416 PAGES An excellent visual survey of the course of modern art, opening with Impressionism and continuing through to Post-Modernism. The text takes in every major artistic movement of the last 150 years, while the 400-plus color illustrations include masterpieces in all media. (ART09, $29.95)
Monet's Years at Giverny, Beyond Impressionism • David Wildenstein ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1978 • PAPER • 160 PAGES • COMING IN A beautifully illustrated account of Monet's life and work at Giverny featuring 81 color plates. Originally published in 1978 to accompany the exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (FRN213, $15.98)
Monet, the Ultimate Impressionist • Sylvie Patin ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1993 • PAPER • 175 PAGES A pocket-size biography of Monet, this volume in the acclaimed "Discoveries" series traces a revolution in painting brought about by Monet and the other impressionists. It features over 250 illustrations and a full account of Monet in Paris and Giverny. With excerpts from the artist's letters and other writings. (FRN35, $15.95)
Monsieur Pamplemousse and the French Solution • Michael Bond LITERATURE • 2008 • HARD COVER • 288 PAGES The sixteenth mystery featuring detective Monsieur Pamplemousse and his trusty dog Pommes Frites, this novel is a funny, quick read. Featuring, in addition to the beloved detective, a vampy nun and a scandal at a gastronomic guide book company. (FRN738, $29.95)
Mont Saint Michel and Chartres • Henry Brooks Adams HISTORY • 1986 • PAPER • 398 PAGES First published at the turn of the century, this classic work is a meditation on the Medieval world as reflected through its most famous religious structures. (FRN44, $17.00)
The Most Beautiful Villages of Brittany • Hugh Palmer • James Bentley CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1999 • HARD COVER • 208 PAGES Divided geographically, this handsome oversize picture book is an illustrated portrait of Brittany, its landscape, architecture and people. Color photographs accompany lively essays by travel-writer James Bentley. Part of a popular series, it contains maps, a travel guide and many photographs. (FRN166, $40.00)
The Most Beautiful Villages of Burgundy • James Bentley • Hugh Palmer CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1998 • HARD COVER • 224 PAGES Divided geographically, this handsome book is an illustrated portrait of the region, its landscape, architecture and people. Color photographs accompany lively essays by travel writer James Bentley. With maps, a travel guide -- and 260 photographs. (FRN80, $40.00)
The Most Beautiful Villages of Provence • Michael Jacobs CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2012 • PAPER • 224 PAGES With an excellent introduction on the history, culture, landscapes and the pleasures of Southern France, this illusrtated guide features 34 towns and villages in Provence. The book opens with the villages of the Vaucluse and the Bouches-du-Rhone, the region of such architectural gems as Bonnieux and Gordes. Moving east to the Var and eventually the mountains of the Alpine departments, we visit tranquil villages of the center like Les Arcs, set amid some of the finest vineyards of southern France (FRN28, $26.95)
The Most Beautiful Villages of the Loire • James Bentley • Hugh Palmer CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2001 • HARD COVER • 208 PAGES An illustrated portrait of the region, its landscape, architecture, and people. With maps, a travel guide, 275 color photographs and lively essays by travel writer James Bentley. Organized geographically, the book covers 30 villages throughout the region. (FRN483, $40.00)
Murder on the Ile St-Louis • Cara Black MYSTERY • 2008 • PAPER • 304 PAGES Cara Black effortlessly interweaves a suspenseful plot with the history and culture of a Parisian neighborhood, this time the renowned Ile St-Louis. (FRN698, $14.00)
My Father's Glory • Yves Robert LITERATURE • 1991 • DVD The screen adaptation of the memoir of much-loved filmaker and playwright Marcel Pagnol (1895-1974). The film presents a rich portrait of the Provencal landscape; the bulk of the action takes place in sunny lavender fields, when the protagonist and his Parisian family leave the fast pace of the city for the relaxed country life. In French with subtitles. (FRN451, $19.98)
My Father's Glory and My Mother's Castle • Marcel Pagnol BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1986 • PAPER • 341 PAGES Best known as a filmmaker, Pagnol evokes his childhood in Provence and Marseilles fifty years ago. These memoirs, originally published in French as two separate books, sparkle with delight in the people, landscapes and daily life of southern France. Currently available in an expensive print-on-demand edition only. (FRN178, $28.00)
My Friend Maigret • Georges Simenon MYSTERY • 2007 • PAPER • 224 PAGES Inspector Maigret investigates the death of a small-time crook on a Mediterranean island while an inspector from Scotland Yard studies his methods. (FRN718, $14.00)
My Mother's House and Sido • Colette LITERATURE • 2002 • PAPER • 248 PAGES The lyrical tale of coming-of-age in a large house in rural France in the early 20th-century by none other than Collette. My Mother's House (1922) is among the best-loved of Colette's many novels. (FRN431, $20.00)
Mysteries of the Middle Ages, And the Beginning of the Modern World • Thomas Cahill HISTORY • 2008 • PAPER • 343 PAGES Forgive the unfortunate title of this marvelous book. Cahill deftly evokes the historic glories of the major medieval (and the places they frequented) in this illuminating overview of philosophy, art and literature, the fifth volume in his series "Hinges of History" on the making of the modern world. Taking as its cue illuminated medieval manuscripts, the book is wonderfully decorated, including color reproductions of medieval masterpieces. Opening with the glories of cosmopolitan Alexandria and Rome, he quickly moves to Hildgard's Rhineland, the France and England of Queen Eleanor, Paris as filtered through the lovers Heloise and Abelard, medieval Oxford, the glories of Giotto's Padua, the Florence of Dante and Ravenna. It's an bold examination of the roots of modernity in medieval Roman Catholic thought. (EUR239, $22.00)
Mythologies • Roland Barthes CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1989 • PAPER • 159 PAGES Reflections on the Parisian character. Each of the brief essays tackle some aspect of the culture, character or way of life of the French as filtered through the lens of the intellectual, literary-minded Barthes. A classic, originally published in 1957. (FRN233, $14.00)
Nantes Map • IGN 1998 • MAP A detailed map of Nantes and surrounding areas at a scale of 1:13,000 with index. Published by IGN, the French National Geographic Institute. Two Sides. 26x43 inches. (FRN294, $9.95)
Napoleon • Paul Johnson BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2006 • PAPER • 208 PAGES Short, enlightening and opinionated, this "Penguin Life" is Paul Johnson's take on Napoleon Bonaparte -- to whose power grab he traces the roots of 20th-century totalitarianism. It chronicles the major events of the emperor's life from his birth on Corsica to his death on St. Helena. (FRN348, $14.00)
Napoleon Bonaparte • Alan Schom BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1998 • PAPER • 888 PAGES This extremely unflattering biography of Napoleon may upset admirers of the French ruler, but there is no denying author Alan Schom's enthusiasm for the subject. Going so far as to say Napoleon may not have even been much a military leader, Schom challenges some common notions of the Bonaparte legend, while giving well researched accounts of some of the most famous battles. (FRN149, $24.99)
Narrow Dog to Carcassonne • Terry Darlington LITERATURE • 2008 • PAPER • 336 PAGES "We could bore ourselves to death, drink ourselves to death, or have a bit of an adventure..." It was absurd. It was foolhardy. And it was glorious. When they retired, Terry Darlington and his somewhat saner wife Monica -- together with their dog, a whippet named Jim -- chucked their earthbound life and set out in an utterly unseaworthy sixty-foot canal narrowboat across the notoriously treacherous English Channel and down to the South of France. (FRN741, $15.00)
National Geographic France • Rosemary Bailey GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 400 PAGES An abundantly illustrated guide to the country, with essays on history and culture and limited practical travel information. (FRN322, $27.95)
National Geographic Paris • Lisa Davidson GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 272 PAGES An abundantly illustrated guide to the city, with excellent maps and a section on history and culture. (FRN393, $22.95)
National Geographic Provence & Cote D'Azur • Barbara Noe GUIDEBOOK • 2008 • PAPER • 240 PAGES A practical guide to Provence and the Cote d'Azur in the visually attractive National Geographic style, complete with photographs, illustrations, maps, and information about culture, nature and history. (FRN512, $21.95)
Nora-Pas-de-Calasis,Picardie Map 511 • Michelin Travel Publications MAP A nicely detailed map of the region of France just north of Paris, at a scale of 1:200,000. One Side. 40 X 61 inches. (FRN272, $12.95)
Normandy Map 513 • Michelin MAP A colorful, detailed map of Normandy at a scale of 1:200,000, featuring Rouen, Le Havre and the route of the Seine from west of Paris to the Atlantic. Two Sides. 40x61 inches. (FRN49, $11.95)
Normandy Map 513 • Michelin MAP A colorful, detailed map of Normandy at a scale of 1:200,000, featuring Rouen, Le Havre and the route of the Seine from west of Paris to the Atlantic. Two Sides. 40x61 inches. (FRN49, $11.95)
North Wind in Your Spokes, A Novel of the Tour de France • Hans Blickensdorfer LITERATURE • 2003 • PAPER • 320 PAGES German sportswriter Blickdorfer crafts suspense out his tale of the race, a heady mix of ambition, drugs, bad behavior and the thrill of cycling. (FRN386, $13.00)
Offenbach • Peter Gammond MUSIC • 1992 • PAPER A short introduction to the life and music of Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880), part of a popular series, The Illustrated Lives of the Great Composers. (MUS19, $19.95)
Old Provence • Theodore Andrea Cook • James Ferguson HISTORY • 2001 • PAPER • 384 PAGES A reprint of the classic 1905 account of travels through Provence, focusing on the history the region from Greek and Roman temples to Medieval market towns and castles. (FRN257, $16.00)
On Rue Tatin, Living and Cooking in a French Town • Susan Herrmann Loomis BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2002 • PAPER • 288 PAGES A culinary memoir of Normandy by the author of "The Farmhouse Cookbook," who settled in a remodeled convent in Louviers in 1994. Loomis is a talented chef with a winning prose style and an impressive dedication to all things culinary, and her book is as pleasant as a picnic. With 50 Norman recipes throughout. The book is dedicated to the Louviers and its inhabitants "for making room for us." (FRN308, $14.95)
The Other God, Dualist Religions from Antiquity to the Cathar Heresy • Yuri Stoyanov RELIGION • 2000 • PAPER • 476 PAGES A history of religious dualism from Zoroaster to emergence of medieval Christian heresy. (FRN559, $21.00)
Outwitting the Gestapo • Lucie Aubrac BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1993 • PAPER Aubrac chronicles her participation in the French Resistance from her home in Lyon (where Klaus Barbie was head of the Gestapo) in this absorbing memoir. Told in a series of flashbacks from 1943-1944, she captures the immediacy of the resistance and daily life under the Vichy government. Nicely translated by Conrad Bibber and with a 1992 epilogue by the author. (FRN352, $15.95)
Overlord, D-Day and the Battle for Normandy • Max Hastings HISTORY • 1985 • PAPER • 368 PAGES A readable and well researched account of "Operation Overlord," the name given to the Allied Invasion of Europe. (WAR20, $16.95)
Paris 1919, Six Months that Changed the World • Richard Holbrooke • Margaret Macmillan HISTORY • 2003 • PAPER • 560 PAGES A vivid, comprehensive analysis of the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the treaty to end the war that was supposed to end all wars. In her narrative, Macmillan juggles the conflicting politics, competing personalities and rabid frustrations that came to a head in the creation of the Treaty of Versailles. She argues the peace treaty should not be forced to shoulder all the blame that has been attributed to it for provoking World War II. With 16 pages of photos and maps. (FRN392, $18.00)
Paris and Elsewhere • Richard Cobb • Julian Barnes BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2004 • PAPER • 292 PAGES Richard Cobb departs from his usual focus on the French Revolution in this collection of essays on French personalities like Simenon and Queneau, the down-and-out venues of Paris and Marseille, and personal recollections of a beloved country. (FRN444, $17.95)
Paris in Mind • Jennifer Lee ANTHOLOGY • 2003 • PAPER • 288 PAGES With selections spanning 300 years, this wonderful anthology reflects America's long connection to Paris and the French. The 30 American writers tapped include Benjamin Franklin, Ernest Hemingway and David Sedaris. (FRN412, $15.00)
The Paris Mapguide, The Essential Guide to La Vie Parisienne • Michael Middleditch GUIDEBOOK • 2002 • PAPER • 64 PAGES A book of 30 maps of Paris, including a street index, a metro guide, bus routes and short descriptions of places of interest, such as galleries, museums, restaurants and theaters. Nicely organized but with a copyright date of 1994, beware! Things change. (FRN189, $10.00)
The Paris Shopping Companion, A Personal Guide to Shopping in Paris for Every Pocketbook • Susan Swire Winkler GUIDEBOOK • 2006 • PAPER • 259 PAGES Practical, up-to-date guide to shopping in Paris. (FRN648, $14.95)
Paris to the Moon • Adam Gopnik TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2001 • PAPER • 338 PAGES Gopnik writes with candor and humor about Parisian ways in this charming collection of reflections on adapting to life abroad. The chapter on French medicine and the birth of the Gopniks' new baby alone is worth the price of this book. Other noteworthy essays cover Deux Magots and Le Flore (A Tale of Two Cafes) and cross-cultural encounters (Trouble at the Tower). (FRN208, $16.00)
Paris Was Yesterday • Janet Flanner • Irving Drutman HISTORY • 1988 • PAPER • 232 PAGES Like many American writers in '20s and '30s, journalist Janet Flanner left the States to join the Paris intellectual scene. Author of the early "New Yorker" series "Letter from Paris," she would become an important voice in reporting WWII and a biting commentator on European politics. In characteristically masterful prose, here are her impressions of life in Paris between the wars. (FRN93, $20.95)
Paris, A Musical Gazeteer • Nigel Simeone GUIDEBOOK • 2000 • PAPER • 352 PAGES A reference and guidebook to musical Paris, with a focus on classical genres. This handy book includes information on monuments and concert venues, suggested walking tours and maps, as well as concise biographies of fifty Parisian musicians and composers. (FRN286, $24.00)
The Passion • Jeanette Winterson LITERATURE • 1997 • PAPER • 176 PAGES A novel by award winning author Jeanette Winterson, it tells the stories of Henri, a cook to Napoleon, and Villanelle, the daughter of a gondolier. Both are characters driven by their passions -- Henri's is for Napoleon, while Villanelle's is for a beautiful woman. Lyrical, thought provoking, and immensely creative. (FRN148, $14.95)
Paul Gauguin ,1848-1903: The Primitive Sophisticate • Ingo F. Walther ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2000 • PAPER • 95 PAGES In this short, illustrated introduction to Gauguin and his paintings, color reproductions are paired with commentary on the works. (FRN280, $9.99)
Peasants into Frenchmen, The Modernization of Rural France, 1870-1914 • Eugene Weber CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1979 • PAPER A marvelously well written and influential history of the making of modern France. (FRN476, $37.95)
Pegasus Bridge • Stephen Ambrose HISTORY • 1988 • PAPER • 400 PAGES Another celebrated history of World War II from the prolific Stephen Ambrose. Detailed and engrossing, this volume tells of the British airborne troops whose attack on German defense forces on June 6, 1944, opened the door for the Allied invasion of Normandy. (WAR18, $14.00)
The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry • Silkin, John LITERATURE • 1997 • PAPER • 320 PAGES A collection of verse written during the war, including work by Sassoon, Owen, Blunden, Rosenberg, Hardy and Lawrence. Silkin traces the changing mood of the times from patriotic fervor to war-weary disillusionment. (WAR121, $16.00)
Pere Goriot • Burt Raffel • Honore de Balzac LITERATURE • 1962 • PAPER • 370 PAGES Balzac's penetrating examination of the Parisian world -- its society, ambitions and hypocrisies-- is still one of most compelling. (FRN365, $17.50)
The Perfect Heresy, The Revolutionary Life and Death of the Medieval Cathars • Stephen O'Shea HISTORY • 2001 • HARD COVER • 333 PAGES • COMING IN A rousing tale of the Cathars, their revolutionary beliefs, ways of life and the rage they provoked in the Catholic church. It reads like a novel with a good dose of sex and violence to liven its focus on politics. It's a sympathetic (and rather shocking!) portrait of life among the heretics of 13th century Languedoc. With black-and-white photographs, illustrations and maps. (FRN305, $25.00)
Perfume, The Story of a Murderer • Patrick Suskind LITERATURE • 2001 • PAPER • 255 PAGES The chilling tale of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a monster in pursuit of the prefect perfume, rich in the earthy details of 18th-century Paris. The movie is due out in Fall 2006 and stars Ben Winshaw, Dustin Hoffman, and Alan Rickman. (FRN69, $15.00)
A Piano in the Pyrenees • Tony Hawks TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2007 • PAPER • 352 PAGES British comic Hawks (Around Ireland with a Fridge) serves up another bumbling adventure in this account of buying a house in the French Pyrenees and trying to teach himself to play (not to mention move) a piano. (ITL870, $13.95)
Pimsleur Quick & Simple French • Pimsleur Language Method LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 2005 • AUDIO CD Four audio CDs with eight 30-minute lessons in basic French, covering elementary vocabulary and phrases used in travel and everyday situations. The Pimsleur method emphasizes the use of listening skills without reading materials (so there isn't a book to follow along). It's advertised as "Totally audio: hear it, learn it, speak it." (FRN523, $19.95)
Platform • Michel Houellebecq LITERATURE • 2004 • PAPER • 212 PAGES A provocative novel of ideas by the French author of The Elementary Particles, set in Paris and among the pleasure palaces of Southeast Asia. The book concerns, among other things, the clash of cultures, bourgeois ennui and Islam. A note of caution, the book contains many sexually explicit scenes. (FRN494, $15.00)
Poitou Charentes Map 521 • Michelin MAP A detailed map of Poitou-Charentes -- the region including Angoul�me, Poitiers, and La Rochelle in west central France -- at a scale of 1: 250,000. One Side. 39 X 52 inches. (FRN206, $12.95)
Possession, A Romance • A.S. Byatt LITERATURE • 1991 • PAPER • 576 PAGES Byatt's jam-packed novel is a master class in literary forms. For it, she wrote all of the following and then some: Victorian verse, Breton fairy tales, literary biography, lesbian criticism, love letters and 19th-century diary entries, not to mention the novel itself. We recommend it for readers generally, but most particularly for travelers to the Breton Coast, who will find some wonderfully evocative prose (and those fairy tales!). (FRN355, $16.00)
Post Captain • Patrick O'Brian LITERATURE • 1990 • PAPER • 496 PAGES The second in O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin novels, set during the Napoleonic Wars. This one continues the story of Captain Jack Aubrey and his seafearing adventures off the coast of France, where Aubrey has been imprisoned by his creditors. Aubrey and Maturin's relationship is deepened, and strained, as they each pursue their loves, Sophie and Diana. (FRN171, $15.95)
Privas Ales Map • Institut Geographique National 2007 • MAP A local "Carte de Promendade" at a scale of 1:100,000, covering hiking trails, bike paths, churches, museums, chateaux and other activities. One Side. 35x48 inches. (FRN692, $11.95)
Provence Alps French Riviera Map 527 • Michelin Travel Publications 2008 • MAP A colorful and detailed map of the region from the southern Alps south to the Carmargue, Marseille, Toulon, Cannes and Nice at a scale of 1:200,000. An excellent map for travelers on the Rhone River. Two Sides. 40x61 inches. (FRN22, $11.95)
Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England • Alison Weir HISTORY • 2005 • HARD COVER A well-researched, riveting popular biography. (FRN545, $27.95)
Regional Map of Languedoc-Roussillon • IGN MAP A detailed map of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, updated and revised, including city plans and place-name index, published by the French Government agency, on a scale of 1:280,000. Two Sides. 52x39 inches. (FRN61, $11.95)
Renoir Portraits, Impressions of an Age • Gerhard Gruitrooy ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1998 • PAPER • 344 PAGES A handsomely produced surve featuring excellent color reproductions of the master's portraits along with brief biographies of the people depicted. (FRN403, $45.00)
Renoir, A Master of Impressionism • Colin B. Bailey • Linda Nochlin • Anne Distel ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1998 • PAPER • 144 PAGES A short survey of Renoir's life and work, featuring 120 color reproductions. (FRN404, $16.98)
Renoir, My Father • Jean Renoir BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2001 • PAPER • 437 PAGES The director of such cinematic masterpieces as The Rules of the Game and Grand Illusion, Jean Renoir was also an accomplished writer and a devoted son. His portrait of his father Pierre-Auguste remains the standard biography of the Impressionist master -- personable, informative and supremely affectionate. With 12 color plates. Originally published in 1958. (ART10, $18.95)
Reveries of a Solitary Walker • Jean-Jacques Rousseau • Peter France LITERATURE • 1980 • PAPER • 154 PAGES A classic organized into ten walks Rousseau took through Paris, ruminating on the actions of his past and the components of happiness. (FRN217, $12.00)
Rhone Valley Map • Michelin Travel Publications MAP A colorful, detailed map of the Rhone Valley from Lyon south to Port St. Louis, the Cararmgue and Marseille at a scale of 1:200,000. One Side. 38x52 inches. (FRN64, $13.95)
Rhone-Alpes Map 523 • Michelin Travel Publications MAP An up-to-date regional map at a scale of 1:200,000 published by Michelin. The double-sided map covers the region from Montreux and Geneve south to Chaminox, Mount Blanc, Grenoble and west to the Rhone from Lyon, St-Etienne and Valence. One Side. 39 X 52 inches. (FRN255, $12.95)
Rick Steves France Guide • Rick Steves GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 1064 PAGES An informative practical guide by the popular travel writer and publisher Rick Steves. (FRN493, $24.95)
Road to Liberty, 1944-1945 Map • Michelin Travel Publications MAP A reproduction of Michelin's 1947 map showing the allied march from the coast to Germany across northern France. It's crowded with type, and a bit out of focus. We much prefer its sister map of Normandy, Item FRN264. (FRN267, $10.95)
Rodin: Eros and Creativity • Rainer Crone • Siegfried Salzmann ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1997 • PAPER • 236 PAGES An exhibition catalog of Rodin's sculpture, focusing on his depiction of the erotic and including critical essays by eight European and American experts. (FRN637, $29.95)
Rough Guide Brittany & Normandy • Greg Ward GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 439 PAGES Geared to the independent traveler, this guide to Brittany and Normandy combines an opinionated survey of culture and history with good information on sightseeing, food and accommodations. It includes sections on Monet, D-Day and Mont-St-Michel, as well as 40 maps and 8 pages of color photographs. (FRN238, $21.99)
Rough Guide Languedoc & Roussillon • Rough Guide GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 400 PAGES A compact regional guide, which balances an overview of the culture and history of the area with good, practical travel information. With color photography. (FRN184, $22.99)
Rough Guide Music France • Various Artists MUSIC • 2003 • AUDIO CD A carefully chosen sampling of the diverse sounds of France. Includes the nation-wide favorites of chanson and bal musette, as well regional styles (often sung in their own distinct dialects) and music influenced by the colonies of France's former empire. (FRN634, $14.95)
Rough Guide to Paris Cafe Music • Various Artists MUSIC • 2002 • AUDIO CD A carefully chosen sampling of the diverse sounds of the renowned cafe culture of Paris. Includes the accordian-based bal musette, as well chanson, gypsy music, manouche, and rock and roll. (FRN633, $14.98)
Saint Exupery: Art, Writings and Musings • Nathalie Des Vallieres LITERATURE • 2004 • HARD COVER • 224 PAGES An oversize, lovingly illustrated tribute to the aviation pioneer and French national hero, as compiled by Saint Exupery's great-niece. She includes early sketches of the Little Prince, letters, photographs, and diary excerpts. With 200 color illustrations. Among its many treasures, the book includes Saint Exupery's Letter to An American, an eloquent example of his efforts to persuade the U.S. to enter WWII. Saint Exupery's plane (now identified after 60 years) crashed into the Mediterranean while he was on a reconnaissance mission on July 31, 1944. (FRN441, $19.98)
Saint Joan • George Bernard Shaw LITERATURE • 1989 • PAPER • 159 PAGES First published in 1923, this is the popular play based on the life of Joan of Arc, considered to be one of Shaw's greatest works. It's just one example of how the life of the 15th century martyred saint has captured the imagination of artists and writers through history. (FRN204, $8.95)
Saint Therese of Lisieux • Kathryn Harrison BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2003 • HARD COVER • 240 PAGES A portrait of the pious Carmelite nun by acclaimed author Kathryn Harrison. Saint Therese was renowned for her autobiography published posthumously after her death at age 24 in 1897. Harrison places the "Little Flower" in her historic context and delves beyond the religious icon to find the human figure. A volume in the "Penguin Lives" series. (FRN413, $19.95)
The Secret Life of the Seine • Mort Rosenblum TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2001 • PAPER • 290 PAGES After losing his Paris apartment, Rosenblum, a born storyteller, takes to a houseboat moored on the Seine. The result is this entertaining tour of the places and people he encounters during his explorations along the river. (FRN48, $17.50)
Secrets of the Flesh, A Life of Colette • Judith Thurman BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1999 • HARD COVER • 624 PAGES A chronicle of the exotic, flamboyant life of French novelist, Sidonic-Gabrielle Colette. This enthralling biography of a rebellious, intriguing character focuses on Colette's influence on redefining the role of women and women writers. (FRN211, $30.00)
Selected Letters • Madame de Sevigne BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1988 • PAPER • 319 PAGES The collected letters of Madame de Sevigne evoke life 17th century France. (FRN226, $16.00)
A Short History of Wine • Rod Phillips FOOD • 2002 • PAPER • 400 PAGES An illuminating history of the cultivation, culture and economics of wine and wine production. Delicious. (GEN300, $15.95)
Short Stories in French • Richard Coward LITERATURE • 2001 • PAPER • 214 PAGES From Daniel Boulanger's exploration of revenge and the desire for recognition in "The Hunter's Cafe," to Alain Gerber's brief and poetic "You Never Die," these stories by contemporary authors make good reading in any language. A volume in New Penguin Parallel Texts. (FRN594, $15.00)
The Silent World • Jacques Cousteau BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2004 • PAPER • 220 PAGES "When you dive, you begin to feel that you're an angel," wrote the celebrated explorer, inventor and personality Jacques Cousteau. This 50th anniversary edition of Cousteau's internationally best-selling memoir relives his invention of SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) and his first experiences with underwater exploration, while above ground, occupied France was caught in the throes of World War II. With 24 photographs. (OCE86, $15.00)
Sisley • Alfred Sisley • Richard Shone BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1999 • PAPER • 240 PAGES A survey of the life and work of Alfred Sisley, one of the principle advocates of Impressionism. The book examines some of Sisley's most cherished landscape paintings, from snow scenes in the Paris suburbs to regattas on the Thames. With discussions on his early death as well as the unjustifiable neglect of his work. (FRN243, $39.95)
Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong • Jean-Benoit Nadeau • Julie Barlow CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2003 • PAPER • 351 PAGES This lively, astute examination by two Canadian journalists tackles the contradictions and complexities of the French character, paying particular attention to the question of why the French resist globalization. (FRN755, $16.95)
Something to Declare • Julian Barnes ANTHOLOGY • 2003 • PAPER • 320 PAGES A collection of essays on all things French from the devoted Francophile (and excellent writer) Julian Barnes, an Englishman. Drawn from previously published articles, this collection of Barnes' high-minded musings focuses on the literary (including his favorite Flaubert) -- but also dabbles in cinema, food, song and the Tour de France. (FRN415, $14.95)
South Wind Through the Kitchen, The Best of Elizabeth David • Elizabeth David FOOD • 2011 • HARD COVER • 400 PAGES A selection of recipes and essays, chosen judiciously by Jill Norman, from David's nine influential books, including Book of Mediterranean Food and French Country Cooking. With 200 recipes. David writes equally as well and insightfully about culture and society as about the food itself. Julian Barnes provides the introduction to this edition. First published in the 1950s. (MED30, $29.95)
Southern France Map • National Geographic 2012 • MAP A detailed, full-color fold-up map of southern France by National Geographic at a scale of 1:465,000. Waterproof and tear-resistant, with points of interest and town location included in the index. Two Sides. 27 X 39 inches. (FRN750, $11.95)
Spinsters in Jeopardy • Ngaio Marsh MYSTERY • 1998 • PAPER • 256 PAGES Inspector Roderick Alleyn is on vacation with his family en route to the French Riviera when terrible events ensue in this pleasingly convoluted whodunit by March, a contemporary of Agathie Christie and Dorothy Sayers. At the creepy "House of the Silver Goat," our chief inspector must investigate a murder, infiltrate a secret drug cult; and rescue his kidnapped son. (FRN490, $5.99)
The Splendid Century, Life in the France of Louis XIV • W. H. Lewis HISTORY • 1999 • PAPER • 305 PAGES A gloriously old-fashioned, rousing social history of 17th-century France, rich in anecdote. Lewis (brother of C.S. to whom the book is dedicated) evokes life in France under the reign of the Sun King. Much more than a history of Versailles. Originally published in 1957. (FRN328, $13.50)
Spotted in France • Gregory Edmont TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2003 • PAPER • 230 PAGES An endearingly loony, charming account of Edmont's adventures with JP, his Dalmatian. Getting a dog, it seems, made Edmont French -- or at least no longer an outsider. Man and dog (a goggle-wearing, Vespa riding sophisticate with very good manners) head from Paris to Provence, meeting many interesting characters, and stopping at excellent restaurants, en route. We hear a movie is in the works. (FRN567, $14.95)
St Gervais les Bains, Mont Blanc (West) • IGN MAP This fabulously detailed topographic map (scale 1:25,000) shows the western portion of the Mont Blanc group. In combination with the same publisher's map of the eastern part of the range (Item FRN314), it's the best map for hikers doing the Mont Blanc circuit. One Side. 52x38 inches. (FRN315, $19.95)
The Strangers in the House • Georges Simenon LITERATURE • 2006 • PAPER • 216 PAGES Just when you think Simenon can only write about the inevitability of death and despair, here comes a main character who, dare we say it, actually experiences some redemption? Well, for Simenon this means graduating from sitting alone in your house drinking, to doing it in a bar. This book again tackles issues of class and propriety, and is, but doesn't feel like, a whodunit (FRN681, $14.00)
Strong of Body, Brave & Noble: Chivalry & Society in Medieval France • Constance Brittain Bouchard HISTORY • 1998 • PAPER • 198 PAGES Noble of birth, courageous and proud, the legends surrounding the knights of medieval Europe have captured the modern imagination. This book is a scholarly portrait of the nobles and knights in 11th-13th century France. The author looks especially at the role of women in chivalrous society and the way nobility was depicted in Medieval literature. (FRN109, $21.95)
The Sun King • Nancy Mitford HISTORY • 2012 • PAPER • 255 PAGES An opulent, celebrated biography of Louis XIV. Gracefully written in a witty, conversational style, Mitford's book brings Versailles to vibrant life. (FRN33, $16.95)
The Sun King's Garden: Lous XIV, Andre Le Notre and the Creation of the Gardens at Versailles • Ian Thompson ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2006 • HARD COVER • 384 PAGES Architect and architectural historian Ian Thompson traces the rise of Versailles as a structure, mapping the elaborate preparations that went into the construction of the gardens and the enigmatic figure of Andre Le Notre, the gardener who worked under Louis XIV as the palace garden's premier designer. (FRN627, $45.00)
Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation, A History of Literary Paris in the Twenties and Thirties • Noel Riley Fitch BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1985 • PAPER • 447 PAGES A vivid portrait of life among the literary expatriates of post-WWI Paris, using Sylvia Beach as its central figure. Through anecdotes about Beach whose bookstore Shakespeare and Company would become an intellectual asylum for such figures as Joyce, Hemingway, Williams and Pound Fitch recreates the salons and the wild parties, while communicating the support and camaraderie binding this tight artistic circle. (FRN92, $21.95)
Talking It Over • Julian Barnes LITERATURE • 1992 • PAPER • 272 PAGES The source material for a recent movie, the characters in this novel grapple with love and deception and Francophilia, many of the author's signature themes. After Gillian throws over safe and secure Stuart for artistic Oliver they retreat from gray England to make their home in the French Countryside. (GBR118, $16.00)
Templars: The Dramatic History of the Knights Templar, The Most Powerful Military Order of the Crusades • Piers Paul Read HISTORY • 2009 • PAPER • 350 PAGES A history of the Knights Templar from their formation immediately following the First Crusade to their forced disbandment under the jealous auspices of Pope Clement V and King Philip IV of France. Read describes their political and economic significance, their daily lives, and their demise and current dismal reputation. (EUR192, $16.99)
Tender is the Night • F. Scott Fitzgerald • Charles Scribner LITERATURE • 1995 • PAPER • 317 PAGES Fitzgerald's tragic tale of Dick and Nicole Diver, a pair of wealthy expatriate lovers living on the French Riviera. Dick, a psychiatrist, and Nicole, his former patient, fill their home with friends, but cannot find happiness for themselves and slowly slip into psychological despair. Of Fitzgerald's novels, many consider this his most autobiographical. (FRN196, $15.00)
The Thirty Years' War • Geoffrey Parker HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 316 PAGES Now in a revised edition, this scholarly history of the major European conflict of the 17th century includes contributions by 10 historians. Habsburgs, French, Danes, Dutch, Swedes and Spanish all participated in what was essentially a German civil war. Among the outcomes were the annexation of Alsace by France, the annexation of Pomerania by Sweden and the legalization of Calvinism in Germany. (EUR115, $39.95)
The Three Musketeers • Alexandre Dumas LITERATURE • 2007 • PAPER • 736 PAGES Most famous of Alexandre Dumas's historical novels and one of the most popular adventure stories ever written. Now in a bracing new translation, this swashbuckling epic chronicles the adventures of d'Artagnan, a brash young man from the countryside who journeys to Paris in 1625 hoping to become a musketeer and guard to King Louis XIII. Before long he finds treachery and court intrigue -- and also three boon companions: the daring swordsmen Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Together they strive heroically to defend the honor of their queen against the powerful Cardinal Richelieu and the seductive spy Milady. (FRN674, $16.00)
Through French Windows, An Introduction to France in the Nineties • James Corbett CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1994 • PAPER • 415 PAGES An in-depth study of French society, politics and economics from a well respected scholar, academic but with much to offer the traveler to France. The book dispels many myths about modern France, while offering astute observations on subjects that range from the educational system to sexuality. Complemented by excerpts, statistical reports and illustrations. (FRN187, $27.95)
To Travel Hopefully, Footsteps In The French Cevennes • Christopher Rush BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2005 • PAPER • 279 PAGES In a last ditch effort to regain himself after the death of his wife, Rush heads off to France with a donkey on the trail of fellow Scot Robert Louis Stevenson. It's a beautifully written, moving tale of getting through grief. (FRN534, $17.95)
Total Chaos • Jean-Claude Izzo MYSTERY • 2005 • PAPER • 248 PAGES The first book in Izzo's hard-boiled Marseilles Trilogy, wildly popular in France. Izzo's protagonist, Fabio Montale, is the beleaguered cop in Marseilles' Arab neighborhood. (FRN544, $14.95)
Toujours Provence • Peter Mayle TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 1992 • PAPER • 241 PAGES The sequel to the best-selling memoir "A Year in Provence," this is another touching look at country life in southern France. Describing the setting and people with detail and warmth, Mayle creates an evocative portrait of Provence, rife with amusing personal anecdotes. (FRN121, $14.95)
The Tour De France, A Cultural History • C. S. Thompson HISTORY • 2008 • PAPER • 406 PAGES This authoritative, engaging history of the famous cycling event goes beyond a simple history of the race to consider the Tour de France and its meaning in a wider cultural context. (FRN584, $24.95)
Tourmaline, A Novel • Joanna Scott LITERATURE • 2003 • PAPER • 304 PAGES In this absorbing novel, narrated 50 years after the main action by the youngest son, an eccentric geologist decamps for Elba with his family in 1956, convinced that the island's mineral wealth will turn around his own personal fortune. Much transpires. Scott interweaves her wholly fictitious tale of a family in trouble with plenty of detail about Elba and Napoleon's exile. (FRN368, $13.95)
Tours Blois Map 133 • IGN MAP A detailed, topographic map spanning Tours to Orleans at a scale of 1:100,000. One Side. 38x48 inches. (FRN486, $11.95)
A Travel Guide to Jewish Europe • Ben G. Frank GUIDEBOOK • 2001 • PAPER • 752 PAGES A guide to the sights, monuments and customs of modern Jewish Europe, from Alsace to Krakow. Frank provides historical overviews of Judaism in 18 countries, as well as practical travel information and advice for travelers in search of their ancestral roots. (EUR111, $25.00)
A Traveler's Guide to D-Day and the Battle for Normandy • Carl Shilleto • Mike Tolhurst GUIDEBOOK • 2004 • PAPER • 192 PAGES A compact guide to the battlefields, memorials, sites and cemeteries of the invasion. With maps, travel information, archival and modern photographs. (FRN330, $14.95)
Traveller's Wine Guide to France • Christopher Fielden GUIDEBOOK • 2007 • PAPER • 192 PAGES A slim but very informative, lavishly illustrated guide to the wines of France. It's a vineyard-by-vineyard guide, organized by region, invaluable to the independent traveler looking for the producers. (FRN13, $22.00)
Travels Through France and Italy • Tobias Smollett TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 1997 • PAPER • 144 PAGES First published in 1766, the British novelist Smolett (like many who came after him) writes of the travails and wonder of travel on the continent. The irascible writer, recovering from the death of his daughter, argues and fulminates his way through France and Italy. Called the first modern travelogue, it's a portrait of social life, politics, customs, religion -- and of the writer's state of mind -- that takes the form of a series of letters back home to Merry Olde England. (EUR124, $24.95)
Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes • Robert Louis Stevenson TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2005 • PAPER • 269 PAGES Stevenson's sprightly account of ten days with the single-minded Modestine in the French Cevennes on the trail (today GR 70) from Monastier sur Gazeille to St Jean-du-Gard. His romantic musings and descriptions of the people and places he encounters are delightful. This Penguin Classics edition also includes The Amateur Emigrant, his sharp-eyed chronicle of travels around America: the crowded weeks in steerage, the cross-country train journey. (FRN538, $16.95)
Tropic of Cancer • Henry Miller BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1987 • PAPER • 318 PAGES Miller's controversial, sexually frank depiction of bohemian life in 1930s Paris, a loosely structured memoir and confessional that has grown from a cult favorite to a celebrated modern classic. (FRN419, $14.00)
Two Lives of Charlemagne • Nofker the Stammerer Einhard • Lewis G.M. Thorpe HISTORY • 1969 • PAPER • 227 PAGES Two 8th-century histories of Charlemagne and his military conquests. Both present a vivid account of his life and times, already establishing him as a legendary character. Thorpe's translation preserves the clarity and vividness of the Latin original. (FRN77, $15.00)
Two Towns in Provence • M. F. K. Fisher BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1983 • PAPER • 208 PAGES • FAVORITE Few can paint the earthy details of a place and time like celebrated food writer M.F.K. Fisher. In this light volume, she contrasts village life in Aix-en-Provence with bustling Marseilles. Keenly observant, she evokes these two favorite places with anecdote and loving description. (FRN27, $16.95)
US Marine Corps in World War I, 1917-1918 • Mark R. Henry REFERENCE • 1999 • PAPER • 48 PAGES A look at the uniform, insignia and equipment of the Marines fighting in WWI, part of the "Men-at-Arms" series. (WAR83, $17.95)
The Vagabond • Colette LITERATURE • 1995 • PAPER • 192 PAGES • YOUNG ADULTS A colorful portrait of life in the music halls of early 20th-century Paris. Poetic and lucid, Colette's written depiction of a French dancer/mime is based on her own experiences. (FRN127, $10.95)
Van Gogh and Gauguin, Electric Arguments and Utopian Dreams • Bradley Collins ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2001 • HARD COVER • 264 PAGES A scholarly study by a art historian of Gauguin and Van Gogh, focusing on the time they spent together in Arles. Not just for the specialist, Bradley's psycho-biography is vividly written and persuasive. The two painters were close friends, but held different philosophies on art, which lead to many clashes that served as a great influence on each man's paintings. With a few illustrations. (FRN283, $30.00)
Van Gogh and Gauguin, The Search for Sacred Art • Debora Silverman ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2000 • HARD COVER • 512 PAGES Art historian Debora Silverman analyzes the paintings of Van Gogh and Gauguin in relationship to their religious backgrounds and beliefs, offering fresh insight into some of the works they produced while living together in Arles. (FRN274, $60.00)
Vezelay, the Great Romanesque Church • Laurel Hirsch • Daniel Faure • Veronique Rouchon-Mouilleron ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1999 • HARD COVER • 160 PAGES • COMING IN With 145 specially commissioned photographs gracing its pages, this book traces the history of the great Vezelay. Art historian Veronique Rouchon Mouilleron guides readers through the history of this church, from its construction in 1120 through the progression of design into the next several centuries. (FRN244, $60.00)
Vichy France and the Jews • Robert O. Paxton • Michael Robert Marrus HISTORY • 1995 • PAPER • 432 PAGES An excellent, scholarly history of World War II-era France, an especially of Nazi collaboration by the Vichy government. The authors, after mapping events, ask, "Why did this happen?" (FRN291, $28.95)
Victor Hugo, A Biography • Graham Robb BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1998 • HARD COVER • 682 PAGES A tremendously well written, exhaustive biography of the eccentric genius Victor Hugo. Known primarily as the author of "Les Miserables" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," he was also a painter, architect and political thinker. Biographer Graham Robb, who also wrote on Balzac, not only captures the essence of Hugo's wild life, he provides an accurate depiction of France and England at the turn of the 20th century. (FRN167, $39.95)
Village in the Vaucluse • Laurence Wylie TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 1986 • PAPER • 390 PAGES • FAVORITE A loving portrait of rural Provence and its inhabitants by a sociologist who lived in Roussillon just after WWII. It was a different world then, a traditional village with two telephones, a weekly bus to Avignon, and a single cafe. Of more than historical interest, the book (which has been in print since its publication in 1957) is an excellent introduction to the people and character of the south of France. With Wylie's black-and-white photographs. Divided into four sections; adult problems and worries; adult pleasures; and growing old. (FRN225, $27.50)
Vincent Van Gogh, The Passionate Eye • Pascal Bonafoux ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1992 • PAPER • 175 PAGES • FAVORITE From Paris to Asnieres, Amsterdam and "dazzling Provence," this jewel of a book traces the life and art of Vincent Van Gogh, the spirited, self-destructive painter who celebrated the golden light of the south of France. With hundreds of color and archival photographs. A volume in the acclaimed "Discoveries" series. (FRN29, $12.95)
Vive La Revolution, A Stand-up History of the French Revolution • Mark Steel HISTORY • 2006 • PAPER This "stand-up history" hits all the major points of the French revolution in a distinctly unique (and hilarious) style. Steel, as you might guess, is a British comedian with a flair for history. (FRN609, $15.00)
Walking in France, Exploring France's Great Towns And Finest Landscapes on Foot • John Souter • Gillian Souter GUIDEBOOK • 2005 • PAPER • 288 PAGES A wonderful guide for the independent traveler, featuring walks in a variety of French locations and settings. There are several suggestions for strolls in Paris as well as walks in rural areas, small cities and vineyards. With maps and color photographs. (FRN533, $20.00)
Walking in the Cathar Region • Alan Matingly GUIDEBOOK • 2005 • PAPER • 225 PAGES An overview of the region and practical guide to 22 recommended walks in the French Pyrennes, including three long-distance paths: Le Sentier Cathare, Le Chemin des Bonshommes and the Grande Randonnees 7 & 71. (FRN517, $19.95)
Walks Through Lost Paris, A Journey into the Heart of Historic Paris • Leonard Pitt TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2006 • PAPER • 192 PAGES In this beautiful book, mime and former advertiser Pitt reconstructs Paris of the mid-19th century, a time in which thousands of buildings, many from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, were destroyed to make way for urban renewal. Photos old and new immediately reveal the changed city, while walking tours, engravings, maps and diagrams help guide you through the massive transformations that established the Paris we know today. (FRN571, $24.95)
Wallpaper City Guide Paris • Wallpaper Magazine GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER A stylish, thin (it fits in your back pocket) city guide compiled by the design magazine Wallpaper's local reporters. Well-organized, with chapter tabs, many photographs and of-the-moment recommendations. (FRN608, $9.95)
War Letters, Stories of Courage, Longing and Sacrifice • Robert Kenner HISTORY • 2002 • DVD Produced for PBS, this hour-long documentary dramatizes letters home from the American Revolution to Persian Gulf, Directed by Robert Kenner and narrated by Joan Allen, Edward Norton, Bill Paxton, Giovanni Ribisi, David Hyde Pierce among others. (WAR77, $19.98)
The Way of St James, France, Le Puy to the Pyrenees • Alison Raju GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 224 PAGES A comprehensive and updated guide to walking the 740km Way of St James from Le Puy-en-Velay in central France to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in the Pyrenees. (FRN915, $22.95)
When in France, Do As the French Do, The Clued-In Guide to French Life, Language, and Culture • Ross Steele CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2002 • PAPER • 192 PAGES A humorous guide to France's culture, language, and people. Includes fun multiple choice quizes, a glossary of terms and expressions, charts, and a list of websites for further reference. (FRN650, $12.95)
William the Conqueror, The Norman Impact Upon England • David C. Douglas HISTORY • 1964 • PAPER A classic account of the Norman invasion of England and its aftermath. By focusing on William the Conqueror, Douglas illustrates the monumental impact a man and his army had on the course of medieval history. (GBR249, $27.95)
Wine Country Europe, Touring, Tasting, And Buying At European Regional Wineries • Ornella D'Alessio • Marco Santini FOOD • 2005 • HARD COVER • 324 PAGES Part how-to, part guidebook, part picture book, this charming coffee table treat covers sprawling French vineyards as well as lesser-known hidden treasures in Austria and Hungary. The authors, both Italian journalists and wine connoisseurs, provide helpful tips alongside the hundreds of magnificent color photographs. (EUR191, $35.00)
A World Lit Only By Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance, Portrait of an Age • William Manchester HISTORY • 1993 • PAPER • 322 PAGES In this wide-ranging study, Manchester evokes in vivid detail the great figures and daily life of the 16th century, with information on Henry VIII, Magellan, Borgia, da Vinci and Martin Luther. This is his 18th book and Manchester knows how to tell a great story. It's divided into three sections: Renaissance, Reformation and Discovery. (EUR06, $15.99)
The World of the Troubadours, Medieval Occitan Society, c. 1100 - c. 1300 • Linda M. Paterson HISTORY • 1996 • PAPER • 183 PAGES A scholarly introduction to the culture and language of the Troubadours, medieval inhabitants of southern France whose songs of courtly love were highly influential on early poetry. (FRN467, $53.00)
The World of Wine • Hugh Johnson FOOD • 2005 • HARD COVER • 612 PAGES A handsome boxed set of Hugh Johnson's acclaimed The World Atlas of Wine and The Story of Wine. This two-volume set also includes a CD of Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2006. (WLD67, $85.00)
The Would-Be Commoner • Jeffrey Ravel HISTORY • 2008 • HARD COVER • 288 PAGES A dramatic tale of false identity, murder, and bigamy that riveted France during the reign of Louis XIV. (FRN744, $25.00)
Yanks, The Epic Story of the American Army in World War I • Joanne Thompson Eisenhower • John S.D. Eisenhower HISTORY • 2002 • PAPER • 368 PAGES Eisenhower reconsiders the role of American involvement in WWI, arguing that General Pershing and the men of the AEF were responsible for turning the tide of war towards victory. (WAR78, $23.95)
A Year in Provence • Peter Mayle TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 1991 • PAPER • 207 PAGES The original best-selling tale of settling down in Provence, told with warmth and a great deal of humor. It offers a wonderful inside look at the charms and quirks of the people and the countryside in the south of France. From the best meals in the valley to shady dealings with black-market truffle-hunters to the trials of finding construction workers who will finish their work within a given decade, this loving, mirth-filled picture of the Vaucluse is a mouth-watering treat. (FRN19, $14.95)
The Yellow Dog • Georges Simenon MYSTERY • 2006 • PAPER • 192 PAGES Inspector Maigret investigates the murder of a prominent citizen of a little town on the coast of Brittany in this psychological mystery. (FRN587, $13.00)

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