Les Romans Populaires Français

For anyone confused by the title, "Les Romans Populaires Français" literally means "Popular French Novels."  There are so many great books that one can read that are all written by French Speaking authors, coming from a French background.  As some do not come from France but from French speaking countries around the world, there is a wide variety of novels that are out there that fit into this category.  Don't fear, though, that the only way to read these novels is to learn how to read French.  Several of these wonderful books are translated into English to make it that much easier for you to enjoy. Some of the novels you may come across may even surprise you when you find out that they are, in fact, French.

One of my favorite French novels of all-time is Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, or more popularly known to English Speakers as The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  This novel is a classic that everyone should read in their lifetime.  Originally published in 1831, it is still a novel that many people from around the world study today.  Although most people's only experience with the novel might be the Disney movie, the novel is very different from that.  While the characters are the same and there may be similarities in the plot line, the novel is much darker.  To me, I found the plot of the novel twice as interesting as the movie I had seen as a child because of this.

I hope that by seeing that you are already familiar with some of these French novels, that it will inspire you to go out and research more of them on your own.  It may be daunting to see something written in a different language at first, but many of these novels have been translated in to English.  Who knows, you might even be able to find your new favorite book or author by doing a little bit of research!