starting us off...

Holly Tucker · Post by **Holly Tucker** » Fri October 10th, 2008, 12:35 pm

Anyone want to start making a list of favorite Frenchies? Perhaps in two groups: historical fiction, non-fiction

I'll start...

NONFICTION:
Peter Burke, The Fabrication of Louis XIV
Nina Rattner Gelbart, The King's Midwife
Joan De Jean, The Art of Style (great book for writers about clothes, customs, and food)

FICTION:
Count of Monte Cristo
Princess of Cleves

Most of my reading has been nonfiction, so eager to branch out. That's why I'm in this group. Suggestions?!

Holly
http://www.wondersandmarvels.com

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Fri October 10th, 2008, 1:08 pm

Well, I'm a Dumas gal so here goes for HF,

The Count of Monte Cristo
The Last Cavelier (only for die hard Dumas fans though)

The Musketeer books:
The Three Musketeers
Twenty Years After
The Vicomte de Bragelonne
Louise de la Valliere
The Man in the Iron Mask

The French Revolution series (buyer beware there are some new and very bad translations out there:
Joseph Balsamo
Memoirs of a Physician
The Queen's Necklace
Taking the Bastile
The Countess de Charny
The Knight of the Maison Rouge (aka The Chevalier de Maison Rouge)

And I'll throw in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickes as well.

Laura · Post by **Laura** » Fri October 10th, 2008, 1:11 pm

Misfit, I am also a big fan of Duma´s books. Don´t forget Queen Margot...

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Fri October 10th, 2008, 1:23 pm

Laura, that one's on my TBR pile for the next time I'm in the mood for Dumas. BTW, here's a great Listmania I found on Amazon UK that puts most of his books in order. I found it quite helpful, especially with the French Revolution series. I'm going to do a list of my own once I get the Valois series under my belt.

Leyland · Post by **Leyland** » Fri October 10th, 2008, 1:59 pm

I really enjoyed Judith Merkle Riley's The Master of All Disguises with her usual great mix of darkly humorous fantasy and fiction revolving in this novel around Catherine de Medici, Henri II, Diane de Poitiers and a young poetess with a connection to a fiendish deceased magus. It's not Dumas!

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Desires-Ju ... 605&sr=1-6

sweetpotatoboy · Post by **sweetpotatoboy** » Fri October 10th, 2008, 2:00 pm

Off the top of my head, my favourite France-set historical novels are:

- Jean Plaidy's Catherine de Medici trilogy (starting with Madame Serpent)

- Sandra Gulland's Josephine B trilogy

- Rasero by Francisco Rebolledo

Volgadon · Post by **Volgadon** » Fri October 10th, 2008, 2:21 pm

I'm a huge fan of Dumas, so that goes on the list. To fiction I'll also add several Sabatinis. Bardelys the Magnificient, Scaramouche and Master at Arms. Scaramouche needs no introduction. Bardelys is a 1st-person narrative about a rake in the reign of King --- (my mind has gone completely blank, but in the reign of the Musketeers' King Louis's father) who sets out to win a girls hand on a bet, but ends up falling in love with her. Along the way he gets embroiled in a case of mistaken identity and Hugeonot rebellion.
Master at Arms is about a poor fencing master who finds out that he is actually an aristocrat and goes to the Vendee with an invasion force of emigres to reclaim what's his. The previous heirs are none to happy, of course. A bit reminiscient of the Bay of Pigs combined with the Free Polish troops.
Conan Doyle's Brigadier Gerard stories are a riot!

As for non-fiction, I rather like Wedgewood's biography of Cardinal Richelieu. Another good one is the Memoirs of Baron Marbot, which Gerard is based on.

Alaric · Post by **Alaric** » Fri October 10th, 2008, 2:26 pm

For non-fiction there are loads of biographies on Napoleon out there, some good, some pretty crap. Also I really enjoyed “Marshal Ney: The Bravest of the Brave,” by A.H. Atteridge when I read it last year.

princess garnet · Post by **princess garnet** » Fri October 10th, 2008, 2:29 pm

Farewell, My Queen by Chantal Thomas
The Queen's Confession by Victoria Holt
Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors
The Princess of Cleves by Mme de Lafayette
Josephine B trilogy by Sandra Gulland
Madame Royale by Elena Maria Vidal
The Crown Rose by Fiona Kai Avery

Laura · Post by **Laura** » Fri October 10th, 2008, 3:26 pm

Thanks Misfit, great link!! I think I must re-read the Marie-Antoinette series....