The romance. The wine. The art. The history. We’re forever dreaming of running away to Paris and living our best lives. But alas, real life has different plans. Luckily, we have these amazing books that keep us close to the city of lights no matter where we are in the world.
Paris Je T’aime: 9 Books for Francophiles
The Room on Rue Amélie
As if today’s Paris weren’t enough on its own, travel back in time to the early days of WWII and you’ll be swept away by drama, heartbreak, and the inspiration of people doing their best to resist the Occupation in this beautiful city. THE ROOM ON RUE AMELIE follows the lives of three characters—an American expat, a British RAF pilot, and a young Jewish girl—as they find themselves entwined in a fight for survival. The emotional story of this unlikely group is the heart of the book, but you’ll also relish Harmel’s descriptions of every café, alleyway, and, of course, that famous Parisian light. Immerse yourself in this historical novel, based on real events, and if you whisper a little “Paris, je t’aime” to yourself, well, we won’t blame you.
The Room on Rue Amélie
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How Paris Became Paris
This is a dynamic biography that provides another level of appreciation and context to Paris’s charming and beautiful jardins, boulevards, and bridges. Told in an accessible way, this book is a fascinating and engaging journey through the historical innovations that occurred in Paris during the 17th century. Read it in preparation for a trip, or just to learn how modern staples like public transportation or mail delivery got their start.
How Paris Became Paris
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The Queen of the Night
This book set in the glitzy and gritty world of Second Empire Paris follows Lilliet Berne, a sensation of the Paris Opera who is on the verge of becoming a legend—all she needs is an original role. She is offered one, but realizes with horror that it is based on a dark secret of her past. Only four people know this secret, so who has betrayed her and why?
The Queen of the Night
Lilliet Berne, legendary soprano at the Paris Opera, is offered a coveted original role, but realizes with horror that this new opera is based on the dark secrets of her own past. Who betrayed her? This thrilling historical drama is filled with so many things I love: mystery, political intrigue, opera, and treachery. —Sarah Jane
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The Paris Wife
Paula McLain introduces us to Hadley Richardson, only 28 when she falls for Ernest Hemingway. Her book captures the nuances of the merging of two people and the idea of a double life: one in the context of your partner, and one as yourself. Their intense connection eventually caves under other stressors and betrayals, yet “no one you love,” Hemingway writes, “is ever truly lost.”
The Paris Wife
This deeply intimate novel captures the love affair between two unforgettable figures: Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson. Despite their extraordinary bond, the Hemingways are ill-prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, and they find themselves facing a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.
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Giovanni's Room
A controversial classic of queer lit, GIOVANNI’S ROOM features the doomed love story between an American expat and his Italian lover in Paris. Though raised in Harlem, Baldwin spent much of his adult life living in France; the haunting, lyrical prose of this novella captures his complex relationship with the seedy underbelly of the city of light.
Giovanni's Room
Read a Classic by an Author of Color
Set in the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence, a young man finds himself caught between desire and conventional morality. With a sharp, probing imagination, James Baldwin’s now-classic narrative delves into the mystery of loving and creates a moving, highly controversial story of death and passion that reveals the unspoken complexities of the human heart.
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The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Set in 1930s Paris, THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET follows an orphaned clock keeper, a secretive toy seller, and his bookish goddaughter. The 500-page tome is bursting with full-page illustrations that show all sides of the city, from the interior of train stations to the glowing night skyline in all its splendor.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
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The Paris Daughter
To appreciate Paris is to acknowledge the perseverance of the city. Especially during the second World War. Kristin Harmel’s gripping novel, THE PARIS DAUGHTER, follows two mothers seeking to do what is best for their family as the Nazi’s begin creeping across Europe. For Elise, the target of the German occupation, that means entrusting her friend Juliette to take her daughter. But when Elise returns a year after the war ends, hoping to retrieve her daughter from Juliette’s Paris bookstore, she finds it in ruin—the aftermath of a bombing. With both Elise’s daughter and Juliette gone, Elise must seek out leads to try and track down answers.
The Paris Daughter
From the bestselling author of the “heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism” (People) The Book of Lost Names comes a gripping historical novel about two mothers who must make unthinkable choices in the face of the Nazi occupation.
Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends the day they meet in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne. Though there is a shadow of war creeping across Europe, neither woman suspects that their lives are about to irrevocably change.
When Elise becomes a target of the German occupation, she entrusts Juliette with the most precious thing in her life—her young daughter, playmate to Juliette’s own little girl. But nowhere is safe in war, not even a quiet little bookshop like Juliette’s Librairie des Rêves, and, when a bomb falls on their neighborhood, Juliette’s world is destroyed along with it.
More than a year later, with the war finally ending, Elise returns to reunite with her daughter, only to find her friend’s bookstore reduced to rubble. Surviving neighbors tell her that Juliette and a little girl survived. But which little girl—and what happened in the bookstore’s final moments? Juliette has seemingly vanished without a trace, taking all the answers with her. Elise’s desperate quest to find out what happened to her daughter ultimately leads her to New York—and to Juliette—one final, fateful time.
An “exquisite and gut-wrenching novel” (Lisa Barr, New York Times bestselling author) you won’t soon forget, The Paris Daughter is also a sweeping celebration of resilience, motherhood, and love.
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I Always Think It's Forever
Love and Paris: the perfect match. Just ask Timothy Goodman, the renowned graphic artist who gave in to his creative impulses and moved abroad for a year. His graphic memoir, I ALWAYS THINK IT’S FOREVER, illustrates his brief but powerful love affair set during his time in the city, which ultimately fell apart and forced Goodman to reflect inward. Capturing all the beauty of Paris with a deft artistic hand, he offers a heartfelt account of his experiences, including his heartbreaking lows. Even still, this work provides a real possibility of hope, perfect for any romantic pining for a Parisian entanglement.
I Always Think It's Forever
A sweeping, unique graphic memoir about an artist’s year abroad in Paris and how it gave way to an all-encompassing love affair and crushing heartbreak as he wrestled with trauma, masculinity, and the real possibility of hope.
Renowned graphic artist Timothy Goodman planned to do what every young artist dreams of and spend a year abroad in Paris. While there, he fell in love in a way he never had before. For the first time in his life, he let himself be loved and finally, truly loved someone else. But the deeper the love, the more crushing the heartbreak when the relationship eventually fell apart, forcing him to look inwards. He confronted traumas of his past as well as his own toxic masculinity, and he learned to finally show up for himself.
I Always Think It’s Forever is a one-of-a-kind graphic memoir that chronicles it all—the ups, the downs, love lost, and love found—all in the bold illustration style Goodman is best known for, with poetic prose and handwritten wording to accompany the artwork with a touch of humor added as well. It’s a glimpse inside the heart and mind of a man, first focusing on the time Goodman spent in Paris, including diary entries relating his experiences learning about French food, culture, and language. This touching memoir also explores the painful break-up just six months later in Rome. Goodman artfully describes his attempts at learning to love himself in the end, his scars, cuts, warts, and all in a way no book ever has before.
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An American in Provence
It’s something every Francophile dreams of: picking up and moving to France for a year (or five, for that matter). Well, Jamie Beck, the award-winning photographer did just that. Luckily she was kind enough to document the entire trip in her breath-taking work AN AMERICAN IN PROVENCE, which chronicles her move from New York City to the French countryside. Filled with incredible photos, insights, and even recipes, Jamie Beck’s visual journey will transport you from your work-a-day life to France—even if just for an afternoon.
An American in Provence
Let Jamie Beck transport you to the South of France with An American in Provence: part art book, part travelogue, part memoir, and part cookbook, and perfect for art lovers, Francophiles, and armchair travelers alike.
An American in Provence is a beautiful collection of exquisite portrait, scenic, and still-life photography from wildly popular and award-winning photographer Jamie Beck. Looking to slow down from her fast-paced life in New York City, Beck moved to the French countryside documenting her life as “An American in Provence.” What started as a one-year getaway became five as she continues to chronicle her life there through her photography on Instagram @JamieBeck.co, including the birth of her daughter, Eloise, all in the most breathtaking way.
In An American in Provence, Beck shares her tips and techniques for creating incredible photos and details her transformational journey as an artist and woman. Beck also includes farm-to-table recipes she's learned along the way, including Braised Beef Stew, Spring Chicken with Herbs de Provence, Fresh Tagliatelle Pasta with Spring Asparagus, and Lemon Meringue Tart. This stunning visual journey is sure to delight anyone who wishes to escape reality and immerse themselves in life in Provence.
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