Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

New Jersey

Madeline

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Classic Recipes from Nice and Provence

The Cuisine of the Sun

3ff78a03-1fe4-4081-9a87-a290ea64c591-1

Sandra Gulland

Texas

For Napoleon's stepdaughter, nothing is simple -- especially love.

Paris, 1798. Hortense de Beauharnais is engrossed in her studies at a boarding school for aristocratic girls, most of whom suffered tragic losses during the tumultuous days of the French Revolution. She loves to play and compose music, read and paint, and daydream about Christophe, her brother's dashing fellow officer. But Hortense is not an ordinary girl. Her beautiful, charming mother Josephine has married Napoleon Bonaparte, soon to become the most powerful man in France, but viewed by Hortense as a coarse, unworthy successor to her elegant father, who was guillotined during the Terror.
     Where will Hortense's future lie?
     Inspired by Hortense's real-life autobiography with charming glimpses of teen life long ago, this is the story of a girl chosen by fate to play a role she didn't choose.

The Game of Hope

bfe9e06c-86ad-48df-8546-3adaa1d182f5-1

Francesca Stanfill

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

A Novel

"With her eye for historical detail and flair for sympathetic heroines, Francesca Stanfill breathes new life into the medieval court of Eleanor of Aquitaine. The Falcon's Eyes is a novel of epic proportions that succeeds in being both intimate and vast. History is Stanfill's canvas, humanity her inspiration."--Amanda Foreman, bestselling author of Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire "Stanfill has persuasively re-imagined the Middle Ages, surrounding the legendary Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine with indelible characters in an immersive tale of intrigue, bravery, ruthlessness, and compassion. . . . The Falcon's Eyes is a dazzling adventure, with riveting twists and turns and a surprising yet deeply satisfying conclusion."--Sally Bedell Smith, author of Elizabeth the Queen Set in France and England at the end of the twelfth century, the moving story of a spirited, questing young woman, Isabelle, who defies convention to forge a remarkable life, one profoundly influenced by the fabled queen she idolizes and comes to know - Eleanor of Aquitaine Willful and outspoken, sixteen-year-old Isabelle yearns to escape her stifling life in provincial twelfth century France. The bane of her mother's existence, she admires the notorious queen most in her circle abhor: Eleanor of Aquitaine. Isabelle's arranged marriage to Gerard --- a rich, charismatic lord obsessed with falcons --- seems, at first, to fulfill her longing for adventure. But as Gerard's controlling nature, and his consuming desire for a male heir, become more apparent, Isabelle, in the spirit of her royal heroine, makes bold, often perilous, decisions which will forever affect her fate. A suspenseful, sweeping tale about marriage, freedom, identity, and motherhood, THE FALCON'S EYES brings alive not only a brilliant century and the legendary queen who dominated it, but also the vivid band of complex characters whom the heroine encounters on her journey to selfhood: noblewomen, nuns, servants, falconers, and courtiers. The various settings -- Château Ravinour, Fontevraud Abbey, and Queen Eleanor's exiled court in England -- are depicted as memorably as those who inhabit them. The story pulses forward as Isabelle confronts one challenge, one danger, after another, until it hurtles to its final, enthralling, page. With the historical understanding of Hillary Mantel and the storytelling gifts of Ken Follett, Francesca Stanfill has created an unforgettable character who, while firmly rooted in her era, is also a woman for all times.

The Falcon's Eyes

62b19403-2ec3-471b-b187-df69e9f325dd-1

#hardcover #mystery #procedural #France #detective

Illinois

On the outskirts of Paris, two men have been found with their throats cut. It is assumed that this is a drug-related incident of the kind so often uncovered in that area of town. But Adamsberg is convinced that there is more to it. Anxious to keep control of the case, he must call in a favour from the pathologist Ariane Lagarde.

This Night's Foul Work

bf4357c5-519a-4b50-8855-5ee5519265ab-1

#hardcover #cooking #frenchcooking #french #france

Colorado

Thirty authentic French recipes that are easy-to-follow.

French Cooking

180f8a3e-ef44-4289-b627-cd4a8ef48bd4-1

Sara Houghteling

Alaska

Set in a Paris darkened by World War II, Sara Houghteling's sweeping and sensuous debut novel tells the story of a son's quest to recover his family's lost masterpieces, looted by the Nazis during the occupation. Born to an art dealer and his pianist wife, Max Berenzon is forbidden from entering the family business for reasons he cannot understand. He reluctantly attends medical school, reserving his true passion for his father's beautiful and brilliant gallery assistant, Rose Clément. When Paris falls to the Nazis, the Berenzons survive in hiding. They return in 1944 to find that their priceless collection has vanished: gone are the Matisses, the Picassos, and a singular Manet of mysterious importance. Madly driven to recover his father's paintings, Max navigates a torn city of corrupt art dealers, black marketers, Résistants, and collaborators. His quest will reveal the tragic disappearance of his closest friend, the heroism of his lost love, and the truth behind a devastating family secret. Written with tense drama and a historian's eye for detail, Houghteling's novel draws on the real-life stories of France's preeminent art-dealing familes and the forgotten biography of the only French woman to work as a double agent inside the Nazis' looted art stronghold. Pictures at an Exhibition conjures the vanished collections, the lives of the artists and their dealers, the exquisite romance, and the shattering loss of a singular era. It is a work of astonishing ambition and beauty from an immensely gifted new novelist.

Pictures at an Exhibition

e4243d26-5226-4520-8024-016249069415-1

Neal I. Rosenthal

Missouri

On a Lifetime in the Vineyards and Cellars of France and Italy

A leading importer of limited-production wines of character and quality takes us on an intimate tour through family-owned vineyards in France and Italy and reflects upon the last three decades of controversy, hype, and change in the world of wine In the late 1970s, Neal I. Rosenthal set out to learn everything he could about wine. Today, he is one of the most successful importers of traditionally made wines produced by small family-owned estates in France and Italy. Rosenthal has immersed himself in the culture of Old World wine production, working closely with his growers for two and sometimes three generations. He is one of the leading exponents of the concept of “terroir”—the notion that a particular vineyard site imparts distinct qualities of bouquet, flavor, and color to a wine. In Reflections of a Wine Merchant, Rosenthal brings us into the cellars, vineyards, and homes of these vignerons, and his delightful stories about his encounters, relationships, and explorations—and what he has learned along the way—give us an unequaled perspective on winemaking tradition and what threatens it today. Rosenthal was featured in the documentary film Mondovino and is one of the more outspoken figures against globalization, homogenization, and the “critic-ization” of the wine business. He was also a major subject in Lawrence Osborne’s The Accidental Connoisseur. His is an important voice in defense of the individual and the artisanal, and their contribution to our quality of life.

Reflections of a Wine Merchant

2539b1b7-192d-440d-906a-253b84dce828-1

Mireille Guiliano

Rhode Island

The Secret of Eating for Pleasure

Stylish, convincing, wise, funny–and just in time: the ultimate non-diet book, which could radically change the way you think and live.

French women don’t get fat, but they do eat bread and pastry, drink wine, and regularly enjoy three-course meals. In her delightful tale, Mireille Guiliano unlocks the simple secrets of this “French paradox”–how to enjoy food and stay slim and healthy. Hers is a charming, sensible, and powerfully life-affirming view of health and eating for our times.

As a typically slender French girl, Mireille (Meer-ray) went to America as an exchange student and came back fat. That shock sent her into an adolescent tailspin, until her kindly family physician, “Dr. Miracle,” came to the rescue. Reintroducing her to classic principles of French gastronomy plus time-honored secrets of the local women, he helped her restore her shape and gave her a whole new understanding of food, drink, and life. The key? Not guilt or deprivation but learning to get the most from the things you most enjoy. Following her own version of this traditional wisdom, she has ever since relished a life of indulgence without bulge, satisfying yen without yo-yo on three meals a day.

Now in simple but potent strategies and dozens of recipes you’d swear were fattening, Mireille reveals the ingredients for a lifetime of weight control–from the emergency weekend remedy of Magical Leek Soup to everyday tricks like fooling yourself into contentment and painless new physical exertions to save you from the StairMaster. Emphasizing the virtues of freshness, variety, balance, and always pleasure, Mireille shows how virtually anyone can learn to eat, drink, and move like a French woman.

A natural raconteur, Mireille illustrates her philosophy through the experiences that have shaped her life–a six-year-old’s first taste of Champagne, treks in search of tiny blueberries (called myrtilles) in the woods near her grandmother’s house, a near-spiritual rendezvous with oysters at a seaside restaurant in Brittany, to name but a few. She also shows us other women discovering the wonders of “French in action,” drawing examples from dozens of friends and associates she has advised over the years to eat and drink smarter and more joyfully.

Here are a culture’s most cherished and time-honored secrets recast for the twenty-first century. For anyone who has slipped out of her zone, missed the flight to South Beach, or accidentally let a carb pass her lips, here is a buoyant, positive way to stay trim. A life of wine, bread–even chocolate–without girth or guilt? Pourquoi pas?

French Women Don't Get Fat

bbe6c5a7-c84f-4a07-a804-497490fcfafe-1

This heroic true story of the three youngest children of a bourgeois Catholic family who worked together in the French Resistance is told by an American writer who has known and admired the family for five decades  

In the autumn of 1943, André Boulloche became de Gaulle’s military delegate in Paris, coordinating all the Resistance movements in the nine northern regions of France only to be betrayed by one of his associates, arrested, wounded by the Gestapo, and taken prisoner. His sisters carried on the fight without him until the end of the war. André survived three concentration camps and later became a prominent French politician who devoted the rest of his life to reconciliation of France and Germany. His parents and oldest brother were arrested and shipped off on the last train from Paris to Germany before the liberation, and died in the camps. Since then, silence has been the Boulloches’s answer to dealing with the unbearable. This is the first time the family has cooperated with an author to recount their extraordinary ordeal.

California

In the autumn of 1943, Andre Boulloche became de Gaulle's military delegate in Paris, coordinating all the Resistance movements in the nine northern regions of France only to be betrayed by one of his associates, arrested, wounded by the Gestapo, and taken prisoner. His sisters carried on the fight without him until the end of the war. Andre survived three concentration camps and later became a prominent French politician who devoted the rest of his life to reconciliation of France and Germany. His parents and oldest brother were arrested and shipped off on the last train from Paris to Germany before the liberation, and died in the camps. Since then, silence has been the Boulloches's answer to dealing with the unbearable. This is the first time the family has cooperated with an author to recount their extraordinary ordeal.

The Cost of Courage

17790dd7-8978-4dd4-8a39-de1986f79bfb-1

Janet Laurence

Contains recipes for snacks, main dishes, and desserts originating in France

French cooking is arguably the finest in the world, and this selection of 30 dishes offers a tantalizing taste of that wealth. Includes recipes for internationally renowned classics such as Bouillabaisse, as well as regional favorites such as Salade Nicoise from Provence. Each recipe is accompanied by a full-color illustration.

A Little French Cookbook

f8d79234-fdcd-4d79-84f0-a1a1d0929e00-1

Mark Braude

Iowa

Napoleon on Elba from Exile to Escape

Part forensic investigation, part dramatic jailbreak adventure, Mark Braude's The Invisible Emperor is a gripping narrative history of Napoleon Bonaparte's ten-month exile on the Mediterranean island of Elba In the spring of 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated. Having overseen an empire spanning half the European continent and governed the lives of some eighty million people, he suddenly found himself exiled to Elba, less than a hundred square miles of territory. This would have been the end of him, if Europe's rulers had had their way. But soon enough Napoleon imposed his preternatural charisma and historic ambition on both his captors and the very island itself, plotting his return to France and to power. After ten months of exile, he escaped Elba with just of over a thousand supporters in tow, landed near Antibes, marched to Paris, and retook the Tuileries Palace--all without firing a shot. Not long after, tens of thousands of people would die fighting for and against him at Waterloo. Braude dramatizes this strange exile and improbable escape in granular detail and with novelistic relish, offering sharp new insights into a largely overlooked moment. He details a terrific cast of secondary characters, including Napoleon's tragically-noble official British minder on Elba, Neil Campbell, forever disgraced for having let "Boney" slip away; and his young second wife, Marie Louise who was twenty-two to Napoleon's forty-four, at the time of his abdication. What emerges is a surprising new perspective on one of history's most consequential figures, which both subverts and celebrates his legendary persona. The Invisible Emperor is both a riveting story and an original examination of how preposterous, quixotic, and grandiose ideas can suddenly leap from the imagination and into reality.

The Invisible Emperor

b20619e3-9e29-4e0d-ba3b-a5a9a058fb7f-1

Christopher Measom

Paris: Wish You Were Here! is the ultimate postcard from the most romantic and glamorous city in the world. Filled with writings, facts, and trivia about this most sought-after destination for lovers, writers, artists, fashionistas, and travelers, Paris captures the best of the City of Lights. Exquisitely illustrated with vintage and fine art, Paris offers up the following treasures and pleasures: - Excerpts from FICTION and TRAVEL WRITING from the likes of David Sedaris, Victor Hugo, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Colette, and many others - FOOD customs--how, what, and when to eat--regarding cheeses, breads, meats, wine, coffee, chocolate, street food, and markets, including where to find the best of everything - MONUMENTS and famous DESTINATIONS including Cafe Flore, Shakespeare & co., La Coupole, and more - Parisian MUSEUMS--everything from the must-see to the hidden treasures - POETRY from famous Parisian bards including Baudelaire, Apollinaire, and Mallarme - GOSSIP and interesting TIDBITS about Paris's most famous inhabitants and visitors throughout history, including Briggitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, Coco Chanel, Macel Marceau, Marie Antoinette, Pable Picasso, and Napoleon - ARCHITECTURE--the styles that dominate and why - City HISTORY from Gaul to Gaultier - AMERICANS in Paris, including Josephine Baker, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, James Baldwin, and Nina Simone - Parisian POPULAR CULTURE including fashion, jazz, and cinema - The best of Paris SHOPPING, from flea markets to Avenue Montaigne

Paris: Wish You Were Here

9d6bd0ff-6a19-4f08-af43-85c6437a99eb-1

Anita Shreve

Suffering memory loss due from time on a French battlefield during World War I, American Stella Bain, is taken in by a London surgeon and his wife in this new novel from the author of The Last Time They Met. 250,000 first printing.

Stella Bain

ec1cc785-5267-412a-be47-dbedf7f31043-1

Nina George

Following a failed suicide attempt inspired by her loveless marriage, Marianne Messman travels to Brittany with the intention of trying again but changes her mind when the guests of a charming bistro reintroduce her to life's delights.

The Little French Bistro

3514fead-d135-4cf7-abad-a6a474d08829-1

Bee Ridgway

Waking up in a modern London hospital 200 years after meeting his death on a Napoleonic battlefield, Nick Falcott is indoctrinated into a time-traveling society and returned to the side of a woman he loves to reclaim a vital talisman, a mission that places the fate of the future in his hands. A first novel.

The River of No Return

587d9840-708c-46bd-a0a1-7cf2410cd77b-1

Washington

The Lady Is a Spy is the audacious and riveting true story of Virginia Hall, America's greatest spy and unsung hero, brought to vivid life by acclaimed author Don Mitchell. When Hitler invaded Poland, Virginia Hall was traveling in Europe. Which was dangerous enough, but as fighting erupted, instead of returning home, she headed to France. In a country divided by freedom and fascism, Virginia was determined to do her part for the Allies. An ordinary woman from Baltimore, Maryland, she dove into the action, first joining a French ambulance unit and later becoming an undercover agent for both the British Office of Strategic Services and the US Office of Strategic Services. Working as a spy in the intelligence network, she made her way to Vichy, coordinating Resistance movements, assisting in Nazi sabotage, and rescuing downed Allies. She passed in plain sight of the enemy and soon found herself being hunted by the Gestapo. But Virginia cleverly evaded discovery and death, often through bold feats and escapes. Her covert operations, efforts with the Resistance, and risky work as a wireless telegraph operator greatly contributed to the Allies' eventual win.

The Lady Is a Spy: Virginia Hall, World War II Hero of the French Resistance (Scholastic Focus)

3ed01c42-9517-484e-8f4d-82b6ab25013b-1

#hardcover #youngadult #fiction #youngadultfiction #romance #ya #bookofthemonth #france 

Georgia

Love. Magic. Revolution... “Deliciously addictive.” —Stephanie Garber, author of Caraval “A heady, sparkling dream of a book.” —Margaret Rogerson, author of An Enchantment of Ravens “An utterly beguiling spell.” —Laura Sebastian, author of Ash Princess Paris is a labryinth of twisted streets filled with beggars and thieves, revolutionaries and magicians. Camille Durbonne is one of them. She wishes she weren’t... When smallpox kills her parents, Camille must find a way to provide for her younger sister while managing her volatile brother. Relying on magic, Camille painstakingly transforms scraps of metal into money to buy food and medicine they need. But when the coins won’t hold their shape and her brother disappears with the family’s savings, Camille pursues a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Using dark magic forbidden by her mother, Camille transforms herself into a baroness and is swept up into life at the Palace of Versailles, where aristocrats both fear and hunger for magic. As she struggles to reconcile her resentment of the rich with the allure of glamour and excess, Camille meets a handsome younge inventor, and begins to believe that love and liberty may both be possible. But magic has its costs, and soon Camille loses control of her secrets. And when revolution erupts, Camille must choose—love or loyalty, democracy or aristocracy, reality of magic—before Paris burns.

Enchantée

e2a03111-272a-4362-9763-46f40d2c4871-1

Melanie Benjamin

Minnesota

A captivating novel based on the story of the extraordinary real-life American woman who secretly worked for the French Resistance during World War II--while playing hostess to the invading Germans at the iconic Hotel Ritz in Paris--from the New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator's Wife and The Swans of Fifth Avenue. In March 1940, the Nazis sweep Paris and immediately take up residence in one of the city's most iconic sites: The Hotel Ritz. There, under a roof legendary for its unprecedented luxury and for its fabled residents--including Coco Chanel, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Cole Porter, Hemingway, Balanchine, Doris Duke, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and now Hermann Gèoering--the Nazis rule over a paralyzed city. But two residents of the Ritz refuse to be defeated: its director, Claude Auzello, and his beautiful American actress wife, Blanche. They not only oversee the smooth workings of the hotel, but both Blanche and Claude throw themselves fearlessly into the dangerous and clandestine workings of the French Resistance. This is a true-to-life novel of a courageous woman and her husband who put their marriage--and ultimately their lives--in jeopardy to fight for freedom. Intimate, fearless, and moving, it spins a brilliantly and unforgettably vivid human portrait at a time of unimaginable crisis and sacrifice.

Mistress of the Ritz

e3d6dafc-0ad0-4403-8db2-4453b66a566b

#hardcover #romance #fiction #adventure #love #france #europe #historicalfiction 

Virginia

Imagines the unconventional love affair of Scottish literary giant Robert Louis Stevenson and American divorcee Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne, who after meeting in late-19th-century rural France take refuge from their respective unhappy lives and embark on two shared decades of international turbulence. By the author of Loving Frank.

Under the Wide and Starry Sky

ec780d0e-da42-4053-8881-643e4c88a337-1

Tatiana de Rosnay

From the New York Times bestselling author of Sarah's Key and A Secret Kept comes an absorbing new novel about one woman's resistance during an époque that shook Paris to its very core.

Paris, France: 1860's. Hundreds of houses are being razed, whole neighborhoods reduced to ashes. By order of Emperor Napoleon III, Baron Haussman has set into motion a series of large-scale renovations that will permanently alter the face of old Paris, moulding it into a "modern city." The reforms will erase generations of history—but in the midst of the tumult, one woman will take a stand.

Rose Bazelet is determined to fight against the destruction of her family home until the very end; as others flee, she stakes her claim in the basement of the old house on rue Childebert, ignoring the sounds of change that come closer and closer each day. Attempting to overcome the loneliness of her daily life, she begins to write letters to Armand, her beloved late husband. And as she delves into the ritual of remembering, Rose is forced to come to terms with a secret that has been buried deep in her heart for thirty years. Tatiana de Rosnay's The House I Loved is both a poignant story of one woman's indelible strength, and an ode to Paris, where houses harbor the joys and sorrows of their inhabitants, and secrets endure in the very walls...

Arkansas

Determined to protect her historical family home from Napoleon's orders to renovate 1860s Paris, Rose Bazelet establishes a defense in the basement of her house on rue Childebert and records her experiences in letters to her late husband, a process that helps her come to terms with a decades-old secret. By the best-selling author of Sarah's Key. 150,000 first printing.

The House I Loved

3801a679-b2fb-460d-be50-3d9c66949e96-1

Francine du Plessix Gray

Pursuing a friendship and then a passionate romance with the young Marie Antoinette, dashing Swedish nobleman Count Axel von Fersen becomes a devoted companion to the entire royal family before attempting to help them escape in the wake of the French Revolution. By the author of Soviet Women. 50,000 first printing.

The Queen's Lover

d460f527-ef95-46b0-9abc-177a04939f07-1

James Tipton

Massachusetts

A Novel of the French Revolution

For fans of Tracy Chevalier and Sarah Dunant comes this vibrant, alluring debut novel of a compelling, independent woman who would inspire one of the world's greatest poets and survive a nation's bloody transformation.

Set amid the terror and excitement of the French Revolution, James Tipton's evocative novel is the story of a woman who has for too long been relegated to the shadows of history: Annette Vallon, William Wordsworth's mistress and muse.

Born into a world of wealth and pleasure, Annette enjoys the privileges of aristocracy, but a burning curiosity and headstrong independence set her apart. Spoiled by the novels of Rousseau, she refuses to be married unless it is for passion. Yet the love she finds with a young English poet will test Annette in unexpected ways, bringing great joy and danger in a time of terror and death.

Told in sparking prose, Annette Vallon captures the courage and fearlessness of a woman whose dramatic story illuminates a turbulent and fascinating era.

Browse by categories

Save this search

Ludwig Bemelmans