French Classics

The greatest revenge story ever written — now in a brilliant new translation. Edmond Dantès has everything: youth, love, a promising career. In a single day, jealousy and conspiracy destroy it all. Falsely accused of treason, he is cast into the dungeon of the Château d'If, where he will spend fourteen years in darkness and despair. But a chance encounter with a dying prisoner reveals an impossible secret — the location of a vast treasure hidden on the island of Monte Cristo. When Dantès finally escapes, he emerges as a new man: wealthy beyond measure, coldly brilliant, and consumed ...

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'; so the recording begins and ends with some of Dickens's best-known words, and between those lines is every Briton's view of the worst excesses of the French Revolution. Set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution, the audiobook tells the story of a French doctor who is imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille in Paris. Upon his release, he moves to London with his daughter, Lucie, whom he had never met.

Before marrying, Emma Bovary believed she would enter a life of luxury and passion like the sentimental stories she'd read in her novels and magazines. Now married to an ordinary country doctor her life is not the romantic ideal she imagined and seeks an escape through having extra-marital affairs. This devastating spiral into deceit and despair leads to catastrophic consequences. Emma Bovary continues to be enjoyed to this day because of its profound humanity, still as fresh today as when it was first written.

The unforgettable story of a young English lady and the warrior who saves her from sure death, a woman and a man from different worlds, two bold hearts who find passion in a divided land and swear to love each other forever. “I am so in love with her books every spare minute has been spent reading them since I found the first one! 3 books in and it's this one that is my favorite so far, I love The Raven!”—Melody Banks Raven watches with his younger brother Takooko through the trees near the Susquehanna River as the enemy Mohawk war party heads north in several canoes with their ...

The greatest revenge story ever written — now in a powerful new abridged translation that cuts straight to the heart of the epic Second Edition — Revised and Corrected Translated by Henry Bugalho — philosopher, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Published by Erato Press. You know the story. A young sailor named Edmond Dantès has everything — youth, love, a future. In a single day, jealousy and conspiracy destroy it all. Falsely accused of treason, he is cast into the dungeon of the Château d'If. Fourteen years of darkness. Fourteen years of despair. And then — an ...

Cheveux blonds comme les blés, écharpe au vent... le petit prince est connu de tous. Les aventures de cet enfant pur et innocent tombé du ciel sont emplies d’amour, de poésie et de vérité. Voilà un message qui nous incite à poser un regard neuf sur notre humanité et notre condition humaine. C’est une invitation à revenir à l’essentiel, à célébrer la vie dans son expression la plus noble, en toute simplicité, avec les yeux du cœur.

THIS EDITION of "A Tale of Two Cities" preserves Charles Dickens's powerful and dramatic original story while thoughtfully adapting the text for today's readers. Carefully crafted annotations clarify old-fashioned language, historical references, and challenging vocabulary, making the novel accessible and enjoyable for contemporary audiences. Perfect for leisure reading, book clubs, classroom study, or family discussions, this adaptation ensures that readers of all ages can fully appreciate Dickens's timeless masterpiece. Set against the turbulent backdrop of the French Revolution, "A Tale ...

In the glittering salons of Paris, ambition comes at a terrible price. Lucien de Rubempré is a beautiful, talented young poet from the provinces with dreams of literary glory. Arriving in Paris with nothing but his genius and his illusions, he enters a world where art is commerce, journalism is warfare, and integrity is the first casualty of success. As Lucien navigates the treacherous worlds of publishing and high society, he discovers that talent alone will never be enough. To rise, he must compromise—his principles, his friendships, and ultimately himself. In the salons of the ...

L'action se déroule sous la Régence, période aux mœurs débridées succédant à l'austère fin de règne de Louis XIV. Le jeune chevalier des Grieux rencontre une belle adolescente : Manon Lescaut. Une passion irraisonnée naît entre ces deux très jeunes gens. Leur inconséquence et leur candide immoralité vont projeter le couple dans des aventures qui aboutiront à leur déchéance. Eduqué pour un avenir honorable, des Grieux, par passion amoureuse, ne pourra résister aux penchants licencieux de Manon.

The novel that invented the modern conscience — complete, unabridged, in a new translation that restores Hugo's full voice. Victor Hugo spent seventeen years writing Les Misérables. When it appeared in 1862, readers across Europe and the Americas queued for copies before dawn. It was immediately recognized as something the novel had never been before: not a story about characters, but a judgment on a civilization — a vast, furious, compassionate reckoning with poverty, law, justice, and the question of whether a single human soul can be redeemed by a single act of grace. This is the ...

The Last of the Mohicans has all the elements of a classic frontier adventure: massacres and raids, innocent settlers, hardened soldiers, renegade Indians, and a doomed love affair. It is a memorable portrait of fierce individualism and moral courage. But what draws readers and listeners again and again to this panoramic novel is its deep insight into the symbols of American consciousness.

The complete D'Artagnan saga in one unabridged volume. Five novels. Fifty years of French history. One immortal hero. For the first time in a single edition, all five novels of Alexandre Dumas's D'Artagnan Romances: The Three Musketeers — D'Artagnan arrives in Paris, befriends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, and crosses swords with Cardinal Richelieu and the legendary Milady de Winter. Twenty Years After — The four friends reunite during the Fronde, divided across political lines, racing to save Charles I from the executioner's axe. The Vicomte de Bragelonne — A new generation rises. ...

L'éminent professeur de minéralogie Otto Lidenbrock découvre un jour, caché dans un manuscrit dont il vient de faire l'acquisition, un parchemin rédigé en caractères runiques dont le sens lui demeure obscur. Dès lors, il n'a de cesse de décrypter ce mystérieux message, aidé par son neveu Axel Lidenbrock. Ils découvrent alors quelque chose d'incroyable : le rédacteur du message serait un certain Arne Saknussemm, un alchimiste qui aurait vécu au seizième siècle, et qui aurait découvert un passage vers le "Centre de la Terre".

Perhaps the most beloved of John Fowles's internationally bestselling works, The French Lieutenant's Woman is a feat of seductive storytelling that effectively invents anew the Victorian novel. "Filled with enchanting mysteries and magically erotic possibilities" (New York Times), the novel...

“A Real Keeper!! This story had me from the first moment…”—Az Val, Kindle Edition, Verified Purchase “I loved John Fire Hawk and his stalwart love for Kate!”—Regan Walker, Goodreads The spellbinding frontier love story of a young woman torn between duty and defiance and her forbidden passion for the savage warrior prince Fire Hawk with its promise of true love. THE SQUIRE’S DAUGHTER Kate Miles is the dutiful but defiant daughter of an English squire, promised in an arranged betrothal to a man she does not love and can never respect. She is kind, but everyone fears her—her ...

"Du côté de chez Swann" est à la fois l'ouverture de toute l'œuvre, et un roman complet, pourvu d'une conclusion, certes provisoire, mais dont la désillusion peut paraître, à qui ne lirait pas plus loin, le dernier mot de "La recherche".

Plongez dans l'univers fascinant de la société parisienne du XIXe siècle avec Bel-Ami, un chef-d'œuvre de la littérature française. Suivez l'ascension fulgurante de Georges Duroy, un jeune homme ambitieux et séducteur, prêt à tout pour gravir les échelons de la société. À travers ses aventures et ses manipulations, Maupassant nous offre une critique acerbe des mœurs de son époque, tout en nous captivant par son style inimitable et ses personnages complexes.

Voltaire’s Candide, first published in 1759, is one of the most influential and enduring works of satire in Western literature. Written during the Enlightenment, the novella presents a sharp critique of philosophical optimism, religious hypocrisy, and the cruelty of human society, all wrapped in a fast-paced and darkly humorous adventure. Through its witty and often absurd narrative, Candide remains as relevant today as it was in the 18th century, offering a timeless exploration of human folly, resilience, and the search for meaning. The story follows Candide, a naïve young man raised in...

Swann's Way, published in 1913, is the first volume of Marcel Proust's monumental work In Search of Lost Time (À la recherche du temps perdu). This novel, widely regarded as one of the greatest literary achievements of the 20th century, delves into themes of memory, time, love, and the fleeting nature of existence. Proust's introspective and richly detailed narrative invites readers into a world where every moment, emotion, and thought is meticulously examined. Swann's Way is divided into three parts, each exploring different facets of life and memory. The novel begins with the narrator's ...

Le roman le plus populaire de Jane Austen, l'histoire inoubliable d'Elizabeth Bennet et de M. Darcy. Mrs Bennet a 5 filles à marier. Pas facile quand elles ont une petite dot, et que les prétendants se font rares. Mais un nouveau et jeune gentilhomme vient d'arriver à Netherfield Park, la propriété voisine, et les bonnes manières de la gentry anglaise de l'époque Régence ont vite fait d'organiser un bal pour le rencontrer. Rapidement, M. Bingley se lie avec l'ainée des filles, Jane, et l'on parle presque de mariage.