French Writers

Meet the literary giants who have shaped French and world literature.

365 chapters • ~368 min read

# Masters of the French Word: A Journey Through Literary History

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Why French Literature Matters
  3. A Living Tradition
  4. How to Read This Book
  5. An Invitation
  6. Timeline of French Literary Movements
  7. The City of Ladies
  8. Early Life and Influences
  9. Literary Development
  10. Historical Context
  11. Major Works Analysis
  12. Personal Life
  13. Literary Legacy
  14. Contemporary Relevance
  15. Selected Quotes
  16. Further Reading
  17. A Giant Awakening
  18. Early Life and Influences
  19. Literary Development
  20. Historical Context
  21. Major Works Analysis
  22. Personal Life
  23. Literary Legacy
  24. Contemporary Relevance
  25. Selected Quotes
  26. Further Reading
  27. The Tower of Self
  28. Early Life and Influences
  29. Literary Development
  30. Historical Context
  31. Major Works Analysis
  32. Personal Life
  33. Literary Legacy
  34. Contemporary Relevance
  35. Selected Quotes
  36. Further Reading
  37. A Triumph Born of Scandal
  38. Early Life and Influences
  39. Literary Development
  40. Historical Context
  41. Major Works Analysis
  42. Personal Life
  43. Literary Legacy
  44. Contemporary Relevance
  45. Selected Quotes
  46. Further Reading
  47. The Final Performance
  48. Early Life and Influences
  49. Literary Development
  50. Historical Context
  51. Major Works Analysis
  52. Personal Life
  53. Literary Legacy
  54. Contemporary Relevance
  55. Selected Quotes
  56. Further Reading
  57. The Silence of the Gods
  58. Early Life and Influences
  59. Literary Development
  60. Historical Context
  61. Major Works Analysis
  62. Personal Life
  63. Literary Legacy
  64. Contemporary Relevance
  65. Selected Quotes
  66. Further Reading
  67. The Secret of the Salons
  68. Early Life and Influences
  69. Literary Development
  70. Historical Context
  71. Major Works Analysis
  72. Personal Life
  73. Literary Legacy
  74. Contemporary Relevance
  75. Selected Quotes
  76. Further Reading
  77. The Bastille and the Birth of Voltaire
  78. Early Life and Influences
  79. Literary Development
  80. Historical Context
  81. Major Works Analysis
  82. Personal Life
  83. Literary Legacy
  84. Contemporary Relevance
  85. Selected Quotes
  86. Further Reading
  87. The Illumination on the Road to Vincennes
  88. Early Life and Influences
  89. Literary Development
  90. Historical Context
  91. Major Works Analysis
  92. Personal Life
  93. Literary Legacy
  94. Contemporary Relevance
  95. Selected Quotes
  96. Further Reading
  97. The Prison of Ideas
  98. Early Life and Influences
  99. Literary Development
  100. Historical Context
  101. Major Works Analysis
  102. Personal Life
  103. Literary Legacy
  104. Contemporary Relevance
  105. Selected Quotes
  106. Further Reading
  107. The Night of Exile
  108. Early Life and Influences
  109. Literary Development
  110. Historical Context
  111. Major Works Analysis
  112. Personal Life
  113. Literary Legacy
  114. Contemporary Relevance
  115. Selected Quotes
  116. Further Reading
  117. The Theatre of Life
  118. Early Life and Influences
  119. Literary Development
  120. Historical Context
  121. Major Works Analysis
  122. Personal Life
  123. Literary Legacy
  124. Contemporary Relevance
  125. Selected Quotes
  126. Further Reading
  127. The Night of Liberation
  128. Early Life and Influences
  129. Literary Development
  130. Historical Context
  131. Major Works Analysis
  132. Personal Life
  133. Literary Legacy
  134. Contemporary Relevance
  135. Selected Quotes
  136. Further Reading
  137. The View from San Pietro
  138. Early Life and Influences
  139. Literary Development
  140. Historical Context
  141. Major Works Analysis
  142. Personal Life
  143. Literary Legacy
  144. Contemporary Relevance
  145. Selected Quotes
  146. Further Reading
  147. The Night of Coffee and Creation
  148. Early Life and Influences
  149. Literary Development
  150. Historical Context
  151. Major Works Analysis
  152. Personal Life
  153. Literary Legacy
  154. Contemporary Relevance
  155. Selected Quotes
  156. Further Reading
  157. The Perfect Word
  158. Early Life and Influences
  159. Literary Development
  160. Historical Context
  161. Major Works Analysis
  162. Personal Life
  163. Literary Legacy
  164. Contemporary Relevance
  165. Selected Quotes
  166. Further Reading
  167. J'Accuse...!
  168. Early Life and Influences
  169. Literary Development
  170. Historical Context
  171. Major Works Analysis
  172. Personal Life
  173. Literary Legacy
  174. Contemporary Relevance
  175. Selected Quotes
  176. Further Reading
  177. The Flowers of Evil
  178. Early Life and Influences
  179. Literary Development
  180. Historical Context
  181. Major Works Analysis
  182. Personal Life
  183. Literary Legacy
  184. Contemporary Relevance
  185. Selected Quotes
  186. Further Reading
  187. The Shot in Brussels
  188. Early Life and Influences
  189. Literary Development
  190. Historical Context
  191. Major Works Analysis
  192. Personal Life
  193. Literary Legacy
  194. Contemporary Relevance
  195. Selected Quotes
  196. Further Reading
  197. The Letter of the Seer
  198. Early Life and Influences
  199. Literary Development
  200. Historical Context
  201. Major Works Analysis
  202. Personal Life
  203. Literary Legacy
  204. Contemporary Relevance
  205. Selected Quotes
  206. Further Reading
  207. A Throw of the Dice
  208. Early Life and Influences
  209. Literary Development
  210. Historical Context
  211. Major Works Analysis
  212. Personal Life
  213. Literary Legacy
  214. Contemporary Relevance
  215. Selected Quotes
  216. Further Reading
  217. The Madeleine and Eternity
  218. Early Life and Influences
  219. Literary Development
  220. Historical Context
  221. Major Works Analysis
  222. Personal Life
  223. Literary Legacy
  224. Contemporary Relevance
  225. Selected Quotes
  226. Further Reading
  227. The Vatican Cellars
  228. Early Life and Influences
  229. Literary Development
  230. Historical Context
  231. Major Works Analysis
  232. Personal Life
  233. Literary Legacy
  234. Contemporary Relevance
  235. Selected Quotes
  236. Further Reading
  237. The Music Hall Years
  238. Early Life and Influences
  239. Literary Development
  240. Historical Context
  241. Major Works Analysis
  242. Personal Life
  243. Literary Legacy
  244. Contemporary Relevance
  245. Selected Quotes
  246. Further Reading
  247. The Refusal
  248. Early Life and Influences
  249. Literary Development
  250. Historical Context
  251. Major Works Analysis
  252. Personal Life
  253. Literary Legacy
  254. Contemporary Relevance
  255. Selected Quotes
  256. Further Reading
  257. The Second Sex Scandal
  258. Early Life and Influences
  259. Literary Development
  260. Historical Context
  261. Major Works Analysis
  262. Personal Life
  263. Literary Legacy
  264. Contemporary Relevance
  265. Selected Quotes
  266. Further Reading
  267. Return to My Native Land
  268. Early Life and Influences
  269. Literary Development
  270. Historical Context
  271. Major Works Analysis
  272. Personal Life
  273. Literary Legacy
  274. Contemporary Relevance
  275. Selected Quotes
  276. Further Reading
  277. The Lover's Return
  278. Early Life and Influences
  279. Literary Development
  280. Historical Context
  281. Major Works Analysis
  282. Personal Life
  283. Literary Legacy
  284. Contemporary Relevance
  285. Selected Quotes
  286. Further Reading
  287. The Prize and the Protest
  288. Early Life and Influences
  289. Literary Development
  290. Historical Context
  291. Major Works Analysis
  292. Personal Life
  293. Literary Legacy
  294. Contemporary Relevance
  295. Selected Quotes
  296. Further Reading
  297. The Scandal of Truth
  298. Early Life and Influences
  299. Literary Development
  300. Historical Context
  301. Major Works Analysis
  302. Personal Life
  303. Literary Legacy
  304. Contemporary Relevance
  305. Selected Quotes
  306. Further Reading
  307. The Nobel Moment
  308. Early Life and Influences
  309. Literary Development
  310. Historical Context
  311. Major Works Analysis
  312. Personal Life
  313. Literary Legacy
  314. Contemporary Relevance
  315. Selected Quotes
  316. Further Reading
  317. Literary Movements and Periods
  318. Literary Terms and Concepts
  319. Historical and Cultural Terms
  320. Publishing and Literary Life
  321. Writing Styles and Techniques
  322. Philosophical and Ideological Terms
  323. Regional and Linguistic Terms
  324. Les Grands Prix (The Major Prizes)
  325. Prizes for First Novels
  326. Genre-Specific Prizes
  327. International and Francophone Prizes
  328. Controversial and Alternative Prizes
  329. Recent Developments
  330. The Prize Season (La Rentrée Littéraire)
  331. Economic Impact
  332. Criticisms and Debates
  333. Strategic Considerations for Writers
  334. Historical Evolution
  335. International Recognition
  336. The Prize Economy
  337. Notable Rejections
  338. Essential Reference Works
  339. Major Literary Journals
  340. Digital Resources
  341. Museums and Literary Sites
  342. Libraries and Archives
  343. Academic Programs
  344. Publishers and Bookstores
  345. Professional Organizations
  346. Festivals and Events
  347. Media Coverage
  348. Online Courses and MOOCs
  349. Practical Tips for Study
  350. Essential Critical Works
  351. General Questions for Any Writer
  352. Medieval and Renaissance (Christine de Pizan, Rabelais, Montaigne)
  353. 17th Century Classical Age (Corneille, Molière, Racine, Lafayette)
  354. The Enlightenment (Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot)
  355. 19th Century Romanticism (Hugo, Dumas, Sand)
  356. Realism and Naturalism (Stendhal, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola)
  357. Symbolist Poets (Baudelaire, Verlaine, Rimbaud, Mallarmé)
  358. 20th Century Modernists (Proust, Gide, Colette, Sartre, Beauvoir)
  359. Diverse Voices (Césaire, Duras, Ben Jelloun)
  360. Contemporary Writers (Houellebecq, Ernaux)
  361. Comparative Questions
  362. Questions About Literary Form
  363. Questions About Reception and Legacy
  364. Questions for Personal Reflection
  365. Group Project Ideas