M. Mansfield
Royal Palaces of France: what to read next?
Books close in genre, era, author or reading level, to read in bilingual editions.
Harriet JacobsIncidents in the Life of a Slave GirlHarriet, born into slavery, recounts a childhood marked by fear, violence, and the absence of freedom. Determined to escape her condition, she plans a risky flight to protect her dignity and that of her children. Her path is filled with ordeals, but also acts of courage and…Same countrySame genre
George OrwellHomage to CataloniaIn December 1936, Orwell arrives in Barcelona intending to write newspaper articles, but almost at once he joins a P.O.U.M. militia and leaves for the Aragon front. He describes the cold, the lice, the boredom of the trenches and the strange equality of a revolutionary army.…Same genreSame era
Florence Fenwick MillerHarriet Martineau BiographyA biography published in 1884 in a series on famous women. Florence Fenwick Miller tells the life of the Englishwoman Harriet Martineau, born in 1802 in Norwich into a family descended from French Protestant refugees. Deaf from her teenage years and without a sense of smell,…Same genreSame era
James WalkerThe Johnstown HorrorA chronicle published in 1889, the very year of the disaster. At the end of May 1889, endless rain swells the rivers around Johnstown, a factory town in Pennsylvania wedged at the bottom of a valley. On 31 May, upstream, an earth dam gives way and the lake it held back rushes…Same countrySame genreSame era
William Le QueuxThe Czar's SpyAn adventure and mystery novel published in 1905. Gordon Gregg, an English writer living near Livorno, Italy, is temporarily standing in for the British consul. He receives the owner of a yacht that has run aground, dines on board and finds there the torn photograph of a young…Same genreSame era
Thomas MaloryKing Arthur and the KnightsThe legends of King Arthur, retold in modern English by Rupert S. Holland (1919) from the work of Thomas Malory. The secret son of King Uther, Arthur is raised by the knight Ector without knowing anything of his birth. At fifteen he draws from a stone the sword that no lord has…Same genre
Victor HugoLes MisérablesFreed after nineteen years in the galleys for a stolen loaf, Jean Valjean finds neither work nor shelter, until a bishop takes him in. A different man under a false name, he takes in Cosette, daughter of a working woman dead in destitution, and raises her in hiding. Inspector…Same genre
Stefan ZweigThe World of Yesterday (Volume 1)Stefan Zweig begins with the Vienna of his youth, what he calls the world of security: a city that believed in progress and cared more for the theatre than for politics. He recalls an Austrian schooling, the discovery of literature, then travels to Paris, Berlin, London and…Same genre
Mark TwainLife on the MississippiMark Twain, a keen observer, recounts his experience as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi, blending personal memories with descriptions of the river. He traces the evolution of this vital route for commerce and American life. Through anecdotes and portraits, he brings a…Same countrySame genreSame era
Stefan ZweigThe World of Yesterday (Volume 2)The second volume opens in the first hours of August 1914, with cheering crowds and the loneliness of those who refuse. Zweig describes his work in the war archives, his stay in Switzerland near Romain Rolland, then the collapse of Austria and the inflation that emptied…Same genre
Friedrich HuchPitt and FoxA German novel from 1909, subtitled “the love paths of the Sintrup brothers”. Philipp, nicknamed Pitt, is secretive and ironic, and nothing truly captures his interest; his younger brother Fox, a plump, vain boy, boasts constantly and believes a great future awaits him. Sons of…Same genreSame era
Various AuthorsVictorian Courtship StoriesA collection of five English short stories published between 1861 and 1903, by W. S. Gilbert, Anthony Trollope, Hubert Crackanthorpe, George Egerton and Israel Zangwill, all devoted to courtship. In Venice, an Englishman sees his young neighbour only through her reflection in…Same genreSame era