FRN 325: French Literature in Translation (Dr. Ransom): Find Books

In this highly accessible introduction, Brian Nelson provides an overview of French literature - its themes and forms, traditions and transformations - from the Middle Ages to the present. Major writers, including Francophone authors writing from areas other than France, are discussed chronologically in the context of their times, to provide a sense of the development of the French literary tradition and the strengths of some of the most influential writers within it. Nelson offers close readings of exemplary passages from key works, presented in English translation and with the original French. The exploration of the work of important writers, including Villon, Racine, Molire, Voltaire, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola, Proust, Sartre and Beckett, highlights the richness and diversity of French literature.

This four volume dictionary covers works, rather than authors, so arrangement is alphabetical by title of work. Long signed essays focus mostly on French national writers but includes some other European French-language writers as well.

Arranged by geographical region, and then by country. Essays place literary history into its historical/colonial context. Each section includes a guide for further reading.

While somewhat out of date, this work lists basic book resources for starting research in French literature.

This book provides an introduction to the literatures that have emerged in the French-speaking countries and regions of the world in recent decades. The study opens with a wide-ranging discussion of the idea of francophonie. Each chapter then provides readers with historical background to a particular region and identifies the key issues that have influenced the emergence of a literature in French, before going on to examine in detail a selection of the major writers.