In Focus - Discover France: Experience the Best of France - page 741

Perhaps the greatest French novel writer of the period, however, was Gustave
Flaubert (1821-80), whose 1857 tome Madame Bovary caused a storm of contro-
versy due to its frank treatment of sex, adultery and the plight of women in French
society.
The 19th century also witnessed the emergence of several important French po-
ets, including Charles Baudelaire (known for his seminal collection Les Fleurs du
Mal ; 1857) and the symbolist poets Paul Verlaine (1844-96) and Arthur Rimbaud
(1854-91).

Modern Literature
The early 20th century produced two great
French writers. Nearly everyone in France
has read at least one book by Colette
(1873-1954), whose picaresque novels and
short stories explored the amorous exploits of
gutsy heroines such as Claudine and Gigi
against the backdrop of bourgeois French so-
ciety. By contrast, only the most dedicated
readers make it through all of À la recherche
du temps perdu (Remembrance of Things
Past), published in seven volumes over 14
years by its author, Marcel Proust
(1871-1922). At over 3200 pages, it's the
longest novel ever written.
After WWII, Paris' Left Bank became the
centre for existentialist writers who pondered
cheery topics such as the meaningless of hu-
man existence: key figures include Jean-Paul
Sartre (1905-80), Simone de Beauvoir
(1908-86) and Albert Camus (1913-60),
known for troubling novels including The Out-
sider and The Plague .
More recently, French writers have
struggled to find much success beyond their
own shores, although Françoise Sagan, Pas-
cal Quignard, Léo Malet and the crime-writer Daniel Pennac have developed loyal
non-French followings. One of the big successes of recent years was Martin Page's

Books Set in France

1 A MOVEABLE FEAST (ERNEST
HEMINGWAY)

2 BIRDSONG (SEBASTIAN
FAULKS)

3 PERFUME (PATRICK SUSKIND)

4 A YEAR IN PROVENCE (PETER
MAYLE)

5 CHOCOLAT (JOANNE HARRIS)

6 A YEAR IN THE MERDE
(STEPHEN CLARKE)