“I was fifteen, and I was bored.” — Claudine at School Chapter 1: Introduction to Claudine’s World The novel opens with Claudine, a bright and mischievous fifteen-year-old girl, […]
French literature
Chéri
“You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.” Chapter 1 The novel opens in the luxurious Parisian apartment of Léa de Lonval, a retired courtesan in […]
French literature
Gigi
“She was fifteen and a half, and she had never been kissed.” — Colette, Gigi Chapter 1: Introduction to Gigi The story opens in Paris, introducing Gilberte “Gigi,” […]
French literature
The Horla
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” – Hamlet (quoted in The Horla) May 8 The unnamed narrator begins […]
French literature
Bel-Ami
“The world belongs to the bold.” Part 1: Georges Duroy’s Rise Georges Duroy, a poor ex-soldier, struggles in Paris until he meets his old comrade Charles Forestier, now […]
French literature
The Necklace
“She was one of those pretty and charming girls born, as though fate had blundered over her, into a family of artisans.” Mathilde Loisel, a beautiful but discontented […]
French literature
The Mysterious Island
“We are not proposing to conquer the island, but to defend ourselves.” — Jules Verne, The Mysterious Island Part I: Dropped from the Clouds During the American Civil […]
French literature
Around the World in Eighty Days
“The world is big enough for all of us. No need to be in such a hurry.” — Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days Chapters 1–5: […]
French literature
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
“The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, […]
French literature
Journey to the Center of the Earth
“Science, my boy, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.” Chapter […]