Historical Fiction France

"Paris est désormais au peuple. Tout chaviré. Aiguisé. Se baignant aux fontaines. La nuit est tombée. De petits groupes marchent sur les barrières. Ce sont des bandes d'ouvriers, de menuisiers, de tailleurs, gens ordinaires, mais aussi des porte-faix, des sans-emplois, des argotiers, sortis tout droit de leur échoppe ou du port au Bled. Et dans la nuit de la grande ville, il y eut alors une étincelle, cri de mica. L'octroi fut incendié. Puis un autre. Encore un autre. Les barrières brûlaient."

Louisa's salvation is a position within the Mitford household at Asthall Manor, in the Oxfordshire countryside. There she will become nursemaid, chaperone, and confidante to the Mitford sisters, especially 16-year-old Nancy, an acerbic, bright young woman in love with stories. But then a nurse - Florence Nightingale Shore, goddaughter of her famous namesake - is killed on a train in broad daylight, and Louisa and Nancy find themselves entangled in the crimes of a murderer who will do anything to hide their secret....

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.

Paris, 1774. At the tender age of eighteen, Marie Antoinette ascends to the French throne alongside her husband, Louis XVI. But behind the extravagance of the young queen's elaborate silk gowns and dizzyingly high coiffures, she harbors deeper fears for her future and that of the Bourbon dynasty. From the early growing pains of marriage to the joy of conceiving a child, from her passion for Swedish military attache Axel von Fersen to the devastating Affair of the Diamond Necklace, Marie Antoinette tries to rise above the gossip and rivalries that encircle her.

In this thrilling historical spy novel from New York Times best-selling author Alan Furst, two heroic resistance fighters smuggle valuable information to occupied Paris to turn the tide of the World War II and defeat Nazi Germany.

At dawn on Easter morning 1343, a marauding band of French raiders arrives by boat to ambush the coastal village of Hookton. To brave young Thomas, the only survivor, the horror of the attack is epitomized by the casual savagery of a particular black-clad knight. Thomas vows to avenge the murder of his townsmen and recapture a holy treasure that the black knight stole from the church.

Critics and fans alike welcomed the return of the "shrewd, sharp, rousing" (Kirkus Reviews) Men at War series. Now, Dick Canidy and colleagues in the Office of Strategic Services face an even greater task - to convince Hitler and the Axis powers that the invasion of the European continent will take place anywhere but on the beaches of Nazi-occupied France. "Wild Bill" Donovan’s men have several tactics in mind, but some of the people they must use are not the most reliable, so the deceptions require layer upon layer of intrigue.

In 1942, Charlotte Gray, a young Scottish woman, goes to occupied France on a dual mission: to run an apparently simple errand for a British special operations group and to search for her lover, an English airman called Peter Gregory, who has gone missing in action.

Pregnant and still grieving the death of her fiancé, historian Megan Buchanan is forging ahead on a dream project: to restore to its original glory the landmark hunting lodge her own great-great-grandfather built on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. With the help of her fiancé’s caring best friend, it’s sure to draw much-needed tourist revenue to Cape Hudson, a town rich in southern history. However, it’s Spring House, the caretaker’s cottage on the grounds, that holds the most intriguing history for Megan.

1346. France. King Edward III is restless. Despite earlier victories the French crown remains intact. Determined to bring France under his own rule, Edward has devised a new plan of attack – one which he believes will finally bring the French army to its knees: a final, cataclysmic battle ... Berenger Fripper, Vintener of a pox-ridden mob of sixteen who make up the Vintaine of Sir John de Sully, storms the beaches of Normandy to bring victory to their king. But the French are nowhere to be seen…

Après la tragédie qui a ébranlé le village et causé le décès de Bérangère, Agnès tâche de reprendre les rênes de sa vie. Sa correspondance avec Marion lui procure un soutien inestimable et lui permet de garder contact avec la vie du manoir et avec son amie qui, enfin, semble envisager l’avenir avec espoir.

Le 13 juillet 1131, le destin de la monarchie capétienne et du royaume de France a pris un tour tragique. Alors qu'il chevauchait avec quelques compagnons dans un faubourg de Paris, le jeune prince Philippe, fils aîné du roi Louis VI le Gros et héritier du trône déjà sacré et couronné, fit une grave chute de cheval et mourut quelques heures plus tard. Le cheval n'est pas en cause dans cet accident. Un autre animal se trouve être responsable de la chute, un animal gyrovague, remplissant en ville un rôle d'éboueur : un vulgaire cochon domestique.

Deep within the labyrinth of caves that lies below the lush, rolling vineyards of the Champagne region, an underground city of women and children hums with life. Forced to take shelter from the unrelenting onslaught of German shellfire above, the bravest and most defiant women venture out to pluck sweet grapes for the harvest. But wine is not the only secret preserved in the cool, dark cellars... In present day, Rosalyn Acosta travels to Champagne to select vintages for her Napa-based employer. Rosalyn doesn't much care for champagne - or France, for that matter.

1925. Among the ancient honey-coloured walls of the tiny island of Malta, strangers slip into the shadows and anyone can buy a new name. Rosalie Delacroix flees Paris for a dancer’s job in the bohemian clubs deep in its winding streets. 1944. Running from the brutality of war in France, Florence Baudin faces a new life. But her estranged mother makes a desperate request: to find her vanished sister, who went missing years before. Betrayals and secrets, lies and silence hang between the sisters.

The gallows, the rack, and angry mobs are part of the menace in this horrific novel set in 15th century Paris. Quasimodo, the kind-hearted, hunchbacked bell ringer and the lovely La Esmaralda struggle to survive the brutality that surrounds them.

The year is 1803 and England and France remain at odds. Hoping to break the English once and for all, Napoleon backs a ring of Irish rebels in uprisings against England and sends the Black Tulip, France's most deadly spy, to the Emerald Isle to help. Meanwhile, not to be outdone by her husband, Letty Alsworthy steals away on a ship bound for Ireland, armed and ready to fight for her spouse and to learn a thing or two about spying for England.

Écosse, 1307. Alors qu'une guerre déchire l'Écosse, Alana, guidée par son instinct, s'élance à corps perdu sur le champ de bataille qui menace le château de Brodie, pour sauver un homme. De ce Highlander aux cheveux sombres elle ne sait rien, si ce n'est la terrible vision de lui qu'elle a eue devant un ciel de flammes. Et, en croisant son regard, Alana est soudain traversée par une onde électrique, un sentiment aussi violent qu'inconnu pour elle. Pourtant elle aperçoit bientôt le gonfanon qui flotte sur son équipage.

Alan Furst's latest novel takes place in the secret hotels, nightclubs, and cafes of occupied Paris and the villages of France during the spring of 1941, when Britain was losing the war. Many of the characters are resistance fighters who run an escape line for British airmen down to Spain; they include men and women, old and young, all strong - an aristocrat, a Jewish teacher - and the hero is a hero, has a gun, and uses it.

Angleterre, Danemark, Xe siècle. "Que je sois maudite si je pars avec vous!" Lady Fearn tremble à l'idée de suivre Aric, le guerrier danois qui négocie sa capture avec son père adoptif. Non seulement ce Viking la traite comme une vulgaire marchandise, mais en plus il compte la retenir en otage au Danemark pendant toute une année! Et, à sa grande stupeur, son père, coupable d'avoir fauté avec la sœur du Viking, accepte la proposition pour maintenir la paix.

Marie Vachon experiences firsthand the devastation of the German invasion when she takes in a Jewish refugee named Josiane. A loving, if temporary, home for the displaced child. A second chance at motherhood for Marie. After three years, an inseparable bond is created. It’s one that leads Marie and Josiane to an inevitable but surprising reckoning that calls into question what motherhood means—and where it ends.