In 2011, books with a French twist top my list of holiday gifts, something for every Francophile whether they’ve been naughty or nice. When possible, please support your local bookstore, but for your convenience, I’ve also added an Amazon link. Below are Frenchophile’s favorites:
History 1830-1900: David McCullough’s The Greater Journey
McCullough explores American history in Paris between 1830 and 1900 when hundreds of notable Americans like Oliver Wendell Holmes, Mark Twain, Samuel Morse, and Harriet Beecher Stowe–migrated to Paris.
Memoir: John Baxter’s The Most Beautiful Walk in the World
Baxter writers a beautiful memoir about walking in Paris. The best way to see Paris is on foot, and Baxter makes the walk even more delightful with his insights into the stroll.
Humor: Stuff Parisian’s Like: Discovering the Quoi in the Je Ne Sais Quoi by Olivier Magny
Written by the proprietor of O Chateau, a popular wine bar in Paris, Magny’s book is a humorous look into the Parisian mind. This nonfiction book was written in French and translated into English.
Travel: Paris, Paris: Journey Into the City of Light by David Downie
Travel writer David Downie writes thirty-one short prose sketches of people, places and daily life in Paris, and includes photographs by Alison Harris
Fiction: Paris Wife by Paula McLain
A novel that captures Paris in the 1920s, where Hemingway and his wife Hadley live amidst the “Lost Generationâ€â€”that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.
Food: The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World’s Most Glorious – and Perplexing – City David Lebovitz
Lebovitz brings us along as he falls in love with the magical, and maddening, city of Paris.
