Historical Fiction France

Paris, 1938. Two women meet: Mielle, a shy pacifist and shunned Mennonite who struggles to fit in with the elite cohort of foreign correspondents stationed around the city; the other, Jane, a brash American journalist, who is soon to become a fascist propagandist. When World War II makes landfall in the City of Lights, Mielle falls under Jane’s spell, growing ever more intoxicated by her glamour, self-possession, and reckless confidence. But as this recklessness devolves into militarism and an utter lack of humanity, Mielle is seized by a series of visions that show her an inescapable truth.

Kathy Kacer’s second book in her middle grade series about heroic rescues during WWII tells the tale of siblings Helen and Henry, and history’s most famous mime. Desperate to save them from the Nazis, Henry and Helen’s mother makes the harrowing decision to take her children from their home in 1940s Germany and leave them in the care of strangers in France. The brother and sister must hide their Jewish identity to pass for orphans being fostered at a convent in the foreign land.

Instantly recognizable, Auguste Renoir's masterpiece depicts a gathering of his real friends enjoying a summer Sunday on a café terrace along the Seine near Paris. A wealthy painter, an art collector, an Italian journalist, a war hero, a celebrated actress, and Renoir's future wife, among others, share this moment of la vie moderne, a time when social constraints were loosening and Paris was healing after the Franco-Prussian War.

It is 1793 in France, the year of the guillotine. Already, Louis XVI has been sentenced to the scaffold, and Terror reigns. The architects of the Revolution (Marat, Danton, and Robespierre) have set up the Convention, an embryo parliament, designed to stem social chaos. But ideals topple in the face of political necessity, alliances founder, and intrigue is a way of life.

Vendredi 13 novembre 2015. L'air est encore doux pour un soir d'hiver. Tandis que les Bleus électrisent le Stade de France, aux terrasses des brasseries parisiennes on trinque aux retrouvailles et aux rencontres heureuses. Une ceinture d'explosifs autour de la taille, Khalil attend de passer à l'acte. Il fait partie du commando qui s'apprête à ensanglanter la capitale. Qui est Khalil ? Comment en est-il arrivé là ? Yasmina Khadra nous livre une approche inédite du terrorisme, d'un réalisme et d'une justesse époustouflants.

Adamantine “Ada” Garland has an empathic connection to food and wine, a magical perception of aromas, flavors, and ingredients. Invaluable property of the royal court, Ada was in service to the Five Gods and to the Gods-ordained rulers of Verdania—until she had enough of injustice and bloodshed and deserted, seeking to chart her own destiny. When mysterious assassins ferret her out after sixteen years in hiding, Ada, now a rogue Chef, and her beloved Grand-mère run for their lives, only to find themselves on a path toward an unexpected ally.

A grandfather confronted with the fact that his family is woefully ignorant about their own lineage and legacy is determined to educate them. So begins the tale of his great-great-grandmother, Annabelle. Annabelle was a slave born on a cotton plantation in Mississippi and raised as a house servant, thanks to the plantation master's daughters having a fondness for her. The youngest daughter protects her as best she can from the wrath of the cruel master and his wife but then marries and leaves the plantation.

1937. Betty, âgée de dix-sept ans, quitte tout ce qu'elle a toujours connu, son Hälsingland natal, sa mère, ses frères, pour rejoindre la capitale où l'attend une position de femme de chambre chez un riche médecin. Elle, qui ne sait du monde que ce qu'elle en a écouté dans les livres, bout d'excitation. Dans le train déjà, elle rencontre un homme passionnant, professeur d'origine juive, qui partage son goût pour la littérature... Mais, une fois arrivée en ville, Betty déchante vite : elle doit supporter le mépris de l'épouse de son employeur et travaille du matin au soir.

Five years after the highly publicized trial of Klaus Barbie, the “Butcher of Lyon,” law student Valérie Portheret began her doctoral research into the 108 children who disappeared from Vénissieux fifty years earlier, children who somehow managed to escape deportation and certain death in the German concentration camps. She soon discovers that their rescue was no unexplainable miracle.

Ecosse, 1528. Unique survivante du clan Gilnok, abusée par le sanguinaire Storwick, qui a massacré sa famille, Cate n'a qu'une idée en tête : se venger. Et repousser farouchement tous les hommes qui chercheraient à l'approcher. A plus forte raison ce chevalier John, qui semble si déterminé à percer son secret et représente tout ce qu'elle abhorre : l'arrogance, la loyauté à un roi qu'elle-même déteste, et surtout le goût de la séduction et de la conquête ! Et pourtant...

Quand l'élégance rencontre la force brute. Forres Castle, Écosse, 1803. Robert, marquis de Methven, exige un mariage de convenance avec Lucy, pour hériter des domaines MacMorlan à titre de réparation. Lucy, farouchement opposée à toute idée d'engagement, refuse et éconduit le marquis, malgré le charme viril qu'il dégage. Mais, lorsque Robert menace de révéler ses activités secrètes, elle panique. S'il venait à se découvrir qu'elle écrit des missives romantiques contre de l'argent, elle serait à jamais déshonorée.

Fin des années 1990. Leonora Galloway entreprend un voyage en France avec sa fille. Toutes deux ont décidé d'aller à Thiepval, près d'Amiens, au Mémorial franco-britannique des soldats décédés durant la bataille de la Somme. Le père de Leonora est tombé au combat durant la Première Guerre mondiale, mais la date de sa mort gravée sur les murs du mémorial, le 30 avril 1916, pose problème. Leonora est en effet née près d'un an plus tard.

La trahison qui a ébranlé les services secrets britanniques. Tout est invraisemblable dans ce récit aux allures de roman. Et pourtant, tout est vrai. Au milieu des années 1930, les maîtres-espions de Staline recrutent cinq étudiants de la prestigieuse université de Cambridge. Des jeunes pousses qui s'appellent Anthony Blunt, Guy Burgess, John Cairncross, Donald Maclean et Kim Philby.

Les Misérables emphasizes the three major predicaments of the 19th century, each symbolized by a major character: Jean Valjean represents the degradation of man in the proletariat, Fantine represents the subjection of women through hunger, and Cosette represents the atrophy of the child by darkness.

The Perigord of 16th-century France is a wild region on the edge of the reaches of royal authority - its steep, forested valleys roamed by bands of brigands and gypsies, its communities divided by conflict between Catholics and converts to the new Protestant faith, the Huguenots. To this beautiful but dangerous country come two veterans of the French king's wars, Jean de Siorac and Jean de Sauveterre, The Brethren - as fiercely loyal to the crown as they are to their Huguenot religion.

Philly Delaney risked everything during the war. From flying planes for the Air Transport Auxiliary corps, aka the ‘Attagirls’, to working with the Bletchley Park codebreakers, and life-or-death missions as an SOE agent in France, she and her colleagues pushed their courage—and their luck—to the limits. Joining biographer Kendra and her family on the stunning, sun-drenched Île de Ré, Philly is ready to reveal her extraordinary life story. But she has another reason for being there: she’s never given up searching for her beloved pilot husband, Ben.

Sur une route perdue de l'Ouest américain, un homme roule à tombeau ouvert. Cet homme, c'est Frank Guidry. À ses trousses, un tueur à gages mandaté par le mafieux Carlos Marcello, qui veut se débarrasser d'un témoin indésirable dans le crime du siècle : l'assassinat de JFK. Guidry sait que la première règle, quand on est en cavale, est de ne pas s'arrêter. Et que la seconde est de ne compter que sur soi-même.

When her sister volunteers to help renovate the two cottages she owns in France, Merle is happy to have company. The cottages are a disaster–especially one that has mostly been inhabited by rodents for years. But inside the cottage are surprises. A packet of letters dating from World War One intrigue Merle. What happened to this soldier who was writing to his girlfriend back in England? Does his last letter, telling her to forget him, mean something terrible happened to him?

When her favourite beech tree is felled in a storm, Ann feels as if someone has died. But when long-hidden seed packets are found inside the trunk, Ann realizes there are more memories than her own lurking within the ancient tree. A century earlier, head gardener William Hatherwick and Hester Mordaunt, mistress of Beechgrave, share a love for the mighty estate - and an undeclared love for each other. But when war breaks out, William is sent to the battlefields of France, and as the conflict rages on, Hester grieves beneath the tree.

When Henry Forester is shot down during a bombing run over France, the World War II pilot finds himself trapped behind enemy lines. In constant danger of discovery by German soldiers, Henry begins a remarkable journey to freedom. Relying on the kindness of strangers, Henry moves from town to town-traveling by moonlight, never asking questions or even the names of the people who help him along the way. Each day brings him closer to home, yet every step in enemy territory invites new dangers.