The days are growing shorter, the air is turning crisp, and as fall settles in, there’s nothing lovelier than curling up under the covers with a good book. Even as summer adventures fade, this season invites us to slow down, savor small pleasures, and make space for stories that transport us far beyond our own four walls.
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Paris may be an ocean away, but these Paris-inspired novels promise to carry you straight to its bustling streets, romantic corners, and storied past — all without leaving your favorite reading nook. To help you embrace the season of cozy autumn reading, we’ve gathered some of the year’s most captivating books that will bring a touch of the City of Light into your home.
Be sure to subscribe to My French Country Home Magazine to catch all our French-inspired book recommendations in our bi-monthly “Book Club” column!
French Windows
By Antoine Laurain
From the author of The Red Notebook comes this newly translated thriller filled with Parisian charm. When Nathalia, a young photographer, captures a murder on film, her therapy sessions unlock vivid stories of her neighbors that blur the line between truth and fiction. Laurain’s signature wit and suspense make this a pleasure for lovers of intrigue.
The Paris Paradox
By Shemin Nurmohamed
Drawing on her extensive time in France, Shemin Nurmohamed, a veteran executive of global multinational corporations, reveals how French work-life values provide practical, inspiring alternatives to burnout. She shows how embracing joy, patience and meaningful connection can balance ambition, leading to a more fulfilling, sustainable approach to success.
Paris Noir: The Secret History of a City
By Jacques Yonnet, translated by Christine Donougher
This witty romp through some of France’s lesser-known regions is informed by the author’s two decades of living in the French countryside, as well as her renovation of a 16th century château near the medieval city of Carcassonne. Delving into the diversity, richness, and challenges of rural life, Sophie Duncan’s examination from a home hunter’s perspective is as illuminating as it is entertaining.
The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris
By Evie Woods
This latest work by the best-selling author of The Lost Bookshop takes readers to Compiègne, a village to the north of Paris and home to a most extraordinary bakery, whose magical pastries are rumored to bring luck, unlock forgotten memories and chase away sadness. For Edie Lane, a young Irish woman who comes to work there, the perks of this new job are not at all what she expected.
Paris Undercover:
A Wartime Story of Courage, Friendship and Betrayal
By Matthew Goodman
Based on a true story of a British and an American woman living together in Paris during the German occupation, who were jailed for helping Allied soldiers escape from behind enemy lines. One, Etta, makes it home to publish a sensational memoir of their exploits, while the other, Kitty, remains stuck in a Nazi prison, unaware of the book… and the liberties her friend took with the truth.
The Revolutionary Temper
By Robert Darnton
This fascinating history of the French Revolution explores an extraordinary moment from the perspective of the Parisians who experienced it, analyzing their motivations and aspirations. Robert Darnton has uncovered contemporaneous accounts of the news and gossip that was shared in the cafés and on the park benches, weaving them into a vivid narrative of what it would have been like to those who had a front-row seat.
The French Kitchen
By Kristy Cambron
Kristy Cambron blends wartime intrigue, post-war secrets, and culinary passion. In 1952 Paris, former OSS agent Kat Fontaine’s life unravels when a cooking class taught by Julia Child stirs memories and suspicions about her missing brother and her husband’s past. Meanwhile, in 1943 Nazi-occupied France, chef Manon Altier risks everything to aid the Resistance. Spanning espionage, betrayal, and redemption, this gripping novel connects two courageous women through danger, love, and the power of food.
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