France holidays

Edward Rutherfurd

An epic novel following four families over hundreds of years: bound by forbidden loves and marriages of convenience; dogged by vengeance and murderous secrets; torn apart by the irreconcilable differences of birth and faith, and brought together by the tumultuous history of their city. A book which bursts to life in the intrigue, corruption and glory of its people.

Chosen by Stuart

Stephen Clarke

A humorous bestselling novel about what the French are really like from the point of view of an Englishman who moves to Paris to start a new job.

Irène Némirovsky

A poignant two-part novel about French society at the point of the German invasion of WW2. Originally intended as 4 parts, the author's untimely death in Auschwitz in 1942 prevented the rest from being written. This was discovered and published 65 years later and is now hailed as a masterpiece.

Sarah Turnbull

The author met "a very French Frenchman" whilst backpacking around Europe, accepted an invitation to spend a week with him, and never left. This is a perceptive and humorous book about the culture clashes and paradoxes of starting a new life in France.

James Baldwin

David meets Giovanni in a bar in Paris and they're drawn into an intense love affair that David can't fully acknowledge. His girlfriend returns from abroad forcing difficult, life-altering decisions and desperate consequences.

Peter Mayle

The now-classic "upping roots" book about Mayle and his wife who bought a 200 year-old French farmhouse to begin a new life. This book was one of the first of its kind and follows the hilarious and unexpected, but ultimately enchanting, escapades that followed.