French Legends

Après avoir sauvé sa sœur Scarlett d'un mariage désastreux, Donatella reçoit la lettre d'un mystérieux ami avec qui elle passe un marché. Si elle lui livre le vrai nom de Légende, le maître du jeu Caraval, il l'aidera à retrouver Paloma, leur mère, qu'elles n'ont pas vue depuis huit ans. Mais si elle ne respecte pas son engagement, la jeune fille perdra tout ce qui compte pour elle, peut-être même sa vie. Quand une nouvelle édition du jeu est organisée à Valenda pour les 70 ans de l'impératrice Élantine, Donatella doit y participer pour remplir sa mission. Dès son arrivée, les ennuis commencent.

In an age where it was difficult to steer clear of a king's wrath and keep one's head for their entire life, Armand Jean du Plessis managed to become the power behind a king. The royal courts of 17th and 18th century France were famed for powerful and versatile Ministers like Talleyrand and the Comte de Vergennes, yet none have held as much sway like the man best known to the world today as Cardinal Richelieu.

In many ways it is fitting that Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794) is one of the best known figures of the French Revolution. The early years of the Revolution were fueled by Enlightenment ideals, seeking the social overthrow of the caste system that gave the royalty and aristocracy decisive advantages over the lower classes. Few were as vocal in their support of Enlightenment ideals as Robespierre. But the Reign of Terror became the most memorable aspect of the Revolution, and Robespierre's position made him the Reign of Terror's instrumental figure.

Jean-Paul Belmondo was more than a movie star. He was a movement. From the revolutionary streets of the French New Wave to the grand adventure blockbusters that defined European cinema for decades, Belmondo’s career was a masterclass in charisma, courage, and joy. He laughed. He ran. He jumped across rooftops and hung from helicopters. He lived every moment on screen — and off — with fearless delight. This richly told biography traces Belmondo’s remarkable journey from mischievous boxer to world-famous icon. It explores his legendary collaborations with Jean-Luc Godard, his ...

Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793) gave the French Revolution a voice. One of the most memorable and notorious revolutionaries, Marat became one of the Revolution's best-known figures through his speeches, writings, and scathing attacks on everyone he perceived as, "[E]nemies of the revolution". No revolutionary was more passionate, determined, and willing to die for the cause.

The lethal beauty. The ice-cold gaze. The myth that defined French cinema. Alain Delon was more than an actor—he was a phenomenon. From the golden sunlight of Purple Noon to the shadowed streets of Le Samouraï, he created some of the most unforgettable images in film history. Admired by Visconti, Melville, and Antonioni, feared and adored in equal measure, Delon embodied the contradictions of France itself: elegance and danger, glamour and scandal, silence and provocation. In The Samurai of Cinema, Julien Peltier traces Delon’s extraordinary journey from a troubled childhood to ...

Louis XVI is one of the most famous kings of France, but for reasons he would have much rather avoided. Coming of age in the wake of the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV, and his father, Louis XV, Louis XVI initially intended to be one of France's most enlightened kings. Instead, he was destined to be the only French king ever executed. Indeed, it is his death and his role in fomenting the French Revolution (along with his infamous queen, Marie Antoinette) that continue to play the central role in Louis XVI's legacy.

The ghosts of New Orleans are waiting… will you dare to listen? Step into the misty streets of the French Quarter, where restless spirits roam and the echoes of the past still linger. From haunted mansions and eerie cemeteries to ghostly figures in historic hotels, these chilling true stories will take you deep into the supernatural heart of New Orleans. Inside, you'll discover: 👻 The infamous LaLaurie Mansion – home to one of the city’s darkest legends 👻 Ghosts of the French Quarter – mysterious figures seen in the shadows of historic buildings 👻 Voodoo and restless ...

This audiobook features dramatized audio performances by a full cast - featuring some of your favorite Riot voices. Discover an epic tale of magic, revenge, and an empire on the verge of ruin in the first ever novel set in the blockbuster universe of League of Legends. Camavor is a brutal land...

Throughout history, a countless number of historical figures have had their lives overshadowed by the myths and legends that surround them to the extent that their legacy comes to define them. In French history, this is truer of Marie Antoinette than just about everyone else. Nearly 220 years after she was put to the guillotine, Marie Antoinette is more famous than ever, fairly or unfairly coming to epitomize royalty and everything that was wrong with it.

France's most famous king, and Europe's longest serving, Louis XIV (1638-1715) is often viewed today as a symbol of royal extravagance and splendor. Reigning for over 72 years, the legacy of the "Sun King" is remembered for the magnificent Palace of Versailles, the patronizing of arts and theater, and the apocryphal quote "l'Etat c'est moi" (I am the State).

This second book in the legendary Lymond Chronicles follows Francis Crawford of Lymond who has been abruptly called into the service of Mary Queen of Scots. Though she is only a little girl, the Queen is already the object of malicious intrigues that extend from her native country to the...

Ambessa Medarda : guerrière, générale, matriarche. Elle inspire la crainte, et les Medarda ne tolèrent aucune rivalité dans leur quête de gloire. Forte de ses conquêtes et de ses sacrifices, elle a pénétré le royaume des morts et entrevu son destin : siéger sur le trône du vaste empire de Noxus. Mais avant d'y parvenir, elle doit d'abord devenir la cheffe de son propre clan. Son cousin et ancien confident, Ta'Fik, conteste sa légitimité à assumer un tel rôle. Il connaît les actes sanguinaires qui jalonnent le passé d'Ambessa et sait qu'il doit empêcher son ascension.

Joan of Arc is one of the most famous women in history: a French folk legend, a Catholic saint, and a military heroine. Yet almost nothing is truly known about the Maid of Orleans besides her ultimate fate - being burned at the stake when she was still a teenager. Claiming God instructed her to save France from England, she convinced the uncrowned Charles to send her to the siege of Orleans, and she subsequently led the French army to a string of important victories that made it possible for Charles VII to be coronated as the king of France.

Bienvenue à Camavor, contrée brutale à l'héritage sanglant, où la cavalerie de l'empire fait régner terreur et massacre. Kalista, générale des armées, a bien l'intention de changer les choses. Lorsque Viego, son jeune oncle narcissique, accède au trône, elle fait le serment, en tant que fidèle conseillère et confidente du roi, de tempérer son instinct destructeur. Cependant, ses plans sont contrariés quand un assassin frappe de sa lame empoisonnée Isolde, la femme de Viego, et lui inflige un mal incurable.

The dazzling story of how France reinvented winter — and built the world’s most iconic ski resorts. From the dramatic peaks of Chamonix to the glamorous terraces of Courchevel, the French Alps have shaped the modern ski experience unlike any other place on Earth. Snow & Splendor reveals the full, sweeping history behind France’s legendary resorts: the pioneers, the rivalries, the Olympic dreams, the jet-set years, and the climate challenges shaping their future. Follow shepherds, soldiers, architects, celebrities, adventurers, and visionary planners as they transform remote mountain ...

Based on Richard Rubin's wildly popular New York Times series, Back Over There is a timely journey, in turns reverent and iconoclastic but always fascinating, through a place where the past and present are never really separated. In The Last of the Doughboys, Richard Rubin introduced readers to...

A dream job in a millionaire’s villa on the French Riviera. A travel vlogger hired to document a life of luxury. But this paradise has a bloody secret, and the only thing starving more than the beast in the woods is her audience’s hunger for content. Cassie James, known to her millions of followers as "Wandering Cass," has just landed the gig of a lifetime: house-sitting a modern, isolated mansion clinging to the cliffs above the Mediterranean. The stunning views and infinity pool are a goldmine for her channel, a fantasy of the luxe life she’s ready to deliver in high definition. But...

For more than six decades, Catherine Deneuve has reigned as the face of French cinema. From her luminous breakthrough in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg to her daring transformation in Belle de Jour, from the colonial epic Indochine to the playful ensemble of 8 Women, she has never stopped reinventing herself. Elegant yet enigmatic, distant yet magnetic, Deneuve is more than a movie star—she is a cultural icon who embodies the very essence of France. In this definitive biography, acclaimed author Julien Peltier takes readers on a journey through Deneuve’s extraordinary life and career. ...

Calais-born Olivier Le Vasseur aka La Buse is infamous for his 1721 attack on a Portuguese ship docked at Bourbon (modern day Réunion), the island where he eventually met his fate on the gallows in 1730. The raid yielded one of the most spectacular treasure hauls in the recorded history of piracy. The value of the plunder taken - and a fabled incident that occurred on the day La Buse was hanged - have led to enduring claims about the supposed buried treasure of this ill-fated pirate. The recorded facts of Le Vasseur’s life – and their importance in debunking the legend- are the subject...