Escape to the stunning Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and join Rob and Jane at their holiday home as they embark on more adventures with their beloved duo of fox terriers. Enjoy this extract from part two of A French Odyssey, by Jane Smyth We arrived at the lake to find it packed with people on pedallos, kayaks and paddle boards. The beach area was awash with tables, chairs and bright parasols… Source ..read more

Set against the backdrop of France during the Second World War, Andrée Rushton took inspiration from the stories her mother told her about her escape from Paris only days before the Nazis arrived. After arriving in England, her mother joined WAAF and met her father, an RAF sergeant. Through the novel Andrée explores the question: what if her mother had never escaped? Nicole and her travelling… Source ..read more

Fashion designer Pierre Cardin was a supreme innovator. For over seven decades, he ripped up convention and captured the zeitgeist, revolutionising modern fashion in the mid-1960s and creating iconic designs that continue to resonate today. He dressed all the celebrities of his era: Jackie Kennedy, Lauren Bacall, Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Hepburn, as well as The Beatles (notably their famous… Source ..read more

Award-winning French illustrator Isabel Pin turns her attention to the life of Coco Chanel in this charming book aimed at youngsters aged six and over – and like all good children’s books, it’s a great read for adults too. The beautiful drawings bring to life the tale of Gabrielle, from her early life as an orphan in a convent school to her work as a seamstress and cabaret singer to being one of… Source ..read more

Want to know what the French have been reading for the past years? Here is a selection of best-seller books that are now available to read in English. France is a famously literary country, the home of authors like Proust and Camus and Flaubert. So, it’s not a surprise that the French are big readers. But what do they actually read — is it just sophisticated literature, or are there some murder… Source ..read more

As an author of historical fiction, I strive to include unique details that immerse readers in the lives of people who lived long ago. And the unexpected consequences of fashion details are the most fun, intriguing, and engaging. Here are just a few examples. Eighteenth-century fans were hand-painted silk, often trimmed in lace and jewels. But a lady used them not only to cool herself… Source ..read more

Cathy Yandell is a professor at Carleton College in Minnesota, United States. She teaches courses in French Renaissance literature and culture, contemporary cultural and political issues in France, and the French language. She’s published articles on writers from Louise Labé to Montaigne, and has authored, edited, and coedited several books, including Carpe Corpus: Time and Gender in Early Modern… Source ..read more

This seminal volume – produced in close collaboration with his estate – is the official, most comprehensive reference of Robert Doisneau’s photographs of Paris. Robert Doisneau’s enchanting black-and-white photographs immortalise the magic of Paris, with its combination of dreamy nostalgia and teeming modernity. Profoundly fascinated by his city, the photographer possessed an uncanny ability to… Source ..read more

From the time I knew there was a place called France, I had wanted to go there. When I was a little girl, in my mind France was a place where kings and queens lived in castles situated in lovely, verdant valleys. As I became a little bit older, I became vaguely aware that it was a place where they spoke a language so beautiful the words had a kind of sensuality about them. (This was before I knew… Source ..read more

Click Here for More Competitions This portrait of a fiercely independent creative thinker for children aged six and over is filled with whimsical pictures and informative texts to depict the entire arc of Coco Chanel’s life and career, from schoolgirl rebel to haute-couture icon. Enter here: Win a Copy of I Am Coco Terms and conditions: Employees (and… Source ..read more