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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.