A guided tour of the canonical authors and works of French literature, the foundation for reading at C1/C2 level.
Victor Hugo
19th-century French writer, leading figure of Romanticism; works: Les Misérables, Notre-Dame de Paris
Les Misérables
Epic novel about poverty and justice in Paris; the story of Jean Valjean
Notre-Dame de Paris
Gothic novel about the bell-ringer Quasimodo and the dancer Esmeralda, centred on Notre-Dame Cathedral
Molière
17th-century French playwright; classic comedies: Tartuffe, Le Misanthrope
Tartuffe
Satirical comedy about religious hypocrisy and a pious fraud
Le Misanthrope
Comedy about a man who refuses the polite hypocrisy of society
Le Malade imaginaire
Comedy about a man who imagines he is ill (The Imaginary Invalid)
Voltaire
French Enlightenment philosopher and writer; famous work: Candide
Candide
Short philosophical tale satirizing naive optimism
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
18th-century philosopher writing in French; works: Le Contrat social, Confessions
Le Contrat social
Philosophical work on legitimate government and rights (The Social Contract)
Confessions
Rousseau's candid autobiography about his life and ideas
Honoré de Balzac
19th-century novelist; works: Le Père Goriot, La Comédie humaine
Le Père Goriot
Classic novel about ambition, money and society in Paris
La Comédie humaine
Vast cycle of novels depicting French society (The Human Comedy)
Gustave Flaubert
19th-century novelist; most famous work: Madame Bovary
Madame Bovary
Novel about a woman who longs for more than her ordinary provincial life
Émile Zola
19th-century realist (naturalist) novelist; works: Germinal, L'Assommoir
Germinal
Novel about the hardships of coal miners in northern France
L'Assommoir
Novel about alcoholism and poverty in Paris, written in colloquial language
Charles Baudelaire
19th-century poet; collection: Les Fleurs du mal
Les Fleurs du mal
Collection of poems on beauty, death and desire; a classic of modern poetry (The Flowers of Evil)
Marcel Proust
Modernist novelist; masterpiece: À la recherche du temps perdu
À la recherche du temps perdu
Epic novel about memory and time; a landmark of literary modernism (In Search of Lost Time)
Albert Camus
20th-century writer and philosopher; works: L'Étranger, La Peste
L'Étranger
Short novel about a man who is a stranger to his own society (The Stranger / The Outsider)
La Peste
Allegorical novel about an epidemic, human solidarity and suffering (The Plague)
Jean-Paul Sartre
Existentialist philosopher and writer; works: La Nausée, Huis clos
La Nausée
Philosophical novel about the absence of meaning in existence (Nausea)
Huis clos
Play about three souls trapped in a room with no exit; a classic (No Exit)
Simone de Beauvoir
Feminist writer and philosopher; influential work: Le Deuxième Sexe
Le Deuxième Sexe
Foundational work on the condition of women in society (The Second Sex)
Pierre Corneille
17th-century playwright; work: Le Cid
Le Cid
Classic tragicomedy about the conflict between honour and love
Jean Racine
Classical tragedian of the 17th century; works: Phèdre, Britannicus
Phèdre
Classical tragedy about forbidden passion and guilt, based on Greek myth
Britannicus
Tragedy about power and imperial ambition in ancient Rome
Jean de La Fontaine
17th-century poet famous for his fables featuring animals
Les Fables
Collection of short tales with moral lessons, loved by children and adults alike
Arthur Rimbaud
Rebellious 19th-century poet; well-known work: Le Bateau ivre
Le Bateau ivre
Visionary poem about a boat's mysterious, drifting voyage; a classic of modern poetry (The Drunken Boat)
Marguerite Duras
20th-century novelist and filmmaker known for distinctive, experimental works