Whilst many of us have probably enjoyed some of the things the French are most famous for – cinema, cheese, wine, kissing… – the wonderful world of French literature can often go overlooked abroad. This introduction should give you a crash course in discovering textual treasures both contemporary and classic.

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Poor Emma Bovary. Does her endless and unfulfilling search for romantic love make her a pathetic fantasist or a role model for all those unwilling to be content with a marriage devoid of excitement?

Whatever she is, I don’t recommend quoting her to any lovers as a friend recently did, only to have her partner ask “why would you quote me something said by a foolish woman who deludes herself into thinking she’s in love”. I think it’s clear which camp he’s in.

Emma’s liaisons with the naïve Justin and brutish Rodolphe have provided some of literature’s greatest scenes, including a dreadfully awkward fumble in the woods behind her house and another in the back of a carriage. She is definitely a candidate for an unwitting Bridget Jones forerunner.

In many ways Emma Bovary may have been better off taking some tips from Fréderic, the hero of Flaubert’s other great masterpiece, ‘L’éducation sentimentale’ (A Sentimental Education). His great love for Mme Arnoux remains unconsummated and so he experiences the greatest pleasure of all from Flaubert’s point of view – the deep pleasure of anticipation. Definitely food for thought…

Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) by Choderlos de Laclos

More famous now for the Glenn Close/John Malkovich film or even ‘Cruel Intentions’ with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Philippe, I can assure you that you’ll find the original book even more rewarding. One of the first novels to be written entirely in letters, the release of this text was rather scandalous for the 18th century, and its writer, Laclos was forced to defend himself by saying that his presentation of immoral actions had a moral intention – we should observe the downfall of the protagonists and learn not to follow their bad example. Laclos was a good PR man before PR existed. After all, this book sees the friends/lovers/rivals Madame de Merteuil and Victomte de Valmont (yep, it’s the aristocracy at it again…) plot the deflowering of the innocent Cécile Volanges and the seduction of the virtuous, betrothed Mme de Tourvel. Their manipulative conquests are played out like a game, with drastic consequences when things get out of control.

Passed around high society and counting even Marie Antoinette among its readership base, I think libertinism in 18th century France (and ever since) owes a lot to Laclos’ ‘exposé’.

Je voudrais que quelqu’un m’attende quelque part (I Wish Someone Were Waiting For Me Somewhere) by Anna Gavalda

Anna Gavalda is ‘author du jour’ at the moment with the release of the film ‘Je l’aimais’ which was based on her book of the same name. I actually met her some time ago and was astonished to meet someone so humble and young who had had so much success. One of her first books – a collection of short stories written while she was a teacher in a high school – ‘Je voudrais…’ is a really charming array of different slices of life beginning with a fabulous spontaneous courtship over dinner in Saint-Germain des Près, perhaps a scene that could only take place in literature…

Hygiène de l’assassin (no English translation available) by Amelie Nothomb

After stumbling across this first book by Nothomb, I tore contentedly through about 6-7 of her others. They’re extremely easy to read in French and not especially long. Many have been adapted into films. This one is the tale of a journalist sent to interview an author dying a cancer with just two months left to live. Amidst much competition, a young female reporter unexpectedly gets the scoop a finds herself interviewing a real bitter carcass of an old man with nothing but cynicism for the world and everything in it. Favouring dialogue over description, Nothomb’s narrative creates such vivid and dynamic characters that her books are almost always unputdownable.

Les particules élémentaires (Atomised) by Michel Houellebecq

Yet another one which has been made into a film, but one which I haven’t yet been able to bring myself to see. The New York Times description of it as a ‘deeply repugnant read’ is quite apt. But you’re not meant to like it. Think of his as a bit like a Bret Easton Ellis of Europe. But worse. ‘Atomised’ tells the disturbing story of 2 half-brothers, children of a libertine hippy mother who was little involved in their upbringing. While scientist Michel has almost no sex drive, Bruno is crudely obsessed and often goes for long periods without it, not for lack of trying. The latter ends up seeking pleasure at a hippy commune which provides some of the most unsettling episodes of the book. But it’s not just the vulgarity of the abundant sex (or lack/pursuit of it) that’s troubling, but his views of the degeneration of humanity in general.

While it has been suggested that Houllebecq is a combination of different traits from the two brothers, the hippy mother character is widely acknowledged to be a depiction of his own mother, who took revenge for this recently with the publication of her own memoir, resulting in an unpleasant public spat between mother and son. Real life may indeed be stranger than fiction with this one.

Bonjour Tristesse (Hello Sadness) by Francoise Sagan

This book is the ultimate summer companion – a tale of libertine teens and their equally libidinous parents during a hot summer in the South of France, this book made a star of its 18 year old author in 1954. Speaking to its disillusioned readership in a similar way to JD Salinger’s ‘Catcher in the Rye’, this brief and eloquent tale has become a true cult gem.

Le Rouge et le noir (The Red and the Black) by Stendhal

A lot of French books of the 19th century follow a similar template of a young male protégé falling for a married older woman, against a backdrop of war and/or dangerous social unrest. However, Stendhal’s opus is surely one of the most masterly versions.

If you’ve ever read Sebastian Faulks’ ‘Birdsong’ (and if you haven’t please read it immediately if not sooner) you should know that it owes a lot to ‘Le Rouge…’. The tale of the young Julien Sorel who falls for Mme de Renal amidst his quest to rise above his Plebian birth is probably to France what Pride and Prejudice is to England. The lengths that Julien’s love drive him to are the stuff of dreams (and nightmares). Whenever I see this book in a second hand bookshop (as with Birdsong) I buy a copy and give it to a friend, making many Stendhal converts along the way.

Le Père Goriot (Old Goriot) – Honoré de Balzac

One of the most prolific of French writers, I could have recommended at least ten other equally rewarding books by him, not least ‘La Peau de Chagrin’ (The Magic Skin), ‘Cousine Bette’, ‘Le chef d’oeuvre inconnu (The Hidden Masterpiece – which I will one day make into a short film), but ‘Le Père Goriot’ remains one of the most readable and enjoyable. With more than passing resemblances to King Lear, this is the tale of a loving father, his two grasping and socially ambitious daughters, and a young law student called Rastignac who ends up being more faithful to him than his daughters. With a penchant for seriously heavy description, Balzac really brings his always colourful and entertaining characters to life,

Poor Balzac had a hard life really – despite producing some fabulous works, he was to some extent a writing factory: often writing non-stop for days on end just to earn enough to live. Add to that the fact that he maintained an unrequited love for a married Polish woman called Madame Hanska who he corresponded faithfully with for 15 years and eventually married in March 1850, only for him to die just five months later.

Le ventre de Paris (various English titles, literally ‘The Belly of Paris’) by Emile Zola

Zola and Balzac had a fantastic rivalry in the 19th century, both championing their respective literary philosophies of naturalism and realism which sought to document every aspect of real French life as faithfully as possible, in slightly different ways. One of the ways in which Zola thought he could conquer Balzac was simply by writing more than him – no doubt just to spite him, he expanded Balzac’s novella ‘Le chef d’oeuvre inconnu’ into a full blown (and perhaps slightly overlong) novel.

“Le ventre…” is not the best known of Zola’s great Rougon-Macquart series, but is it surely one of the most entertaining. Set in the heart of the bustling Paris markets at Les Halles it’s a real gossipy ride through the lives of the different traders, paying particular attention to the story of the escaped political prisoner Florent and the effect he has on a Lisa Quenu and her family who he lives with. Also renowned for his descriptive passages, ‘Le Ventre…’ contains what has become known as the “Cheese Symphony”, such is his detailed description of the olfactory sensations experienced upon entering a cheese shop.

The Delta of Venus by Anaïs Nin

This is the ultimate bedside table book. If any guy worth his salt spots it there, I believe you would be in for a night of fun. Nin is a true adventuress and was a copious diary writer. It’s interesting to read some of her journals before approaching her series of erotic texts. Despite being married, she had a famously close relationship with fellow erotic writer Henry Miller, which developed into a relationship. But when this came to an end, she moved onto his wife, June… The Delta of Venus is a super-sensual collection of erotic short stories that is as much as book to read as to be seen reading.

Well I think after you’ve tackled this lot you could probably move on to face some more heavyweights, such as the famous Marcel Proust, whose ‘In search of lost time’ spans some 3,200 pages with more than 2,000 literary characters. I haven’t even mentioned Jules Verne, who is – as I learned the hard way at a pub quiz – the second most translated author of all time (behind Agatha Christie). But finally, a tip on what not to read: Marc Levy – ‘Et si c’était vrai’. I read this back in 2004 on hearing it had been optioned by Spielberg for a film. Since so few French writers are optioned by Hollywood, I thought this must surely have something special about it. Apparently not. This sugary tale of a guy who falls in love with the ghost of the girl who previously lived in his apartment featured Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo in the big screen version, entitled ‘Just like Heaven’. I’m sorry but this literary equivalent of McDonalds is more like my idea of hell!