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Books set in the city of love
Paris is always a good idea.
Hundreds and hundreds of books have been written about Paris over the years, from classics like Les Misérables and A Moveable Feast to contemporary romances and comics. No single book can capture all of Paris, and the books on this list don't attempt to. Instead, they paint a picture of many versions of Paris: the Paris of the 1920s, 1950s, and 2020s; lighthearted Paris and Paris during wartime; the despondent Paris of a depressed gay man in love and the wondrous Paris of a food writer making a home for himself. Each of these books set in Paris, both fiction and nonfiction, will transport you to a different interpretation of the famed city.
The Sweet Life in Paris
There's a long and storied tradition of memoirs about Paris written by Americans who have moved there, lured by love, history, food, or art. Pastry chef and cookbook author David Lebovitz's entry into this genre is an especially delightful one. He recounts his first bumbling attempts to learn the city and shares his misguided assumptions about Parisian life with wry, self-deprecating humor. Through it all, his love and admiration for food shine through. This is an earnestly delicious book.
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Giovanni's Room
Baldwin's heartbreaking, emotionally wrought, and gorgeously written novel of self-loathing, toxic masculinity, repressed passion, and rigid morality is certainly one of the most famous novels set in Paris—and for good reason. David's tortured first-person account of his affair with a young bartender in 1950s Paris is claustrophobic and unforgettable. In sharp, often haunting prose, Baldwin captures the intricacies of human nature and the many textures of a complicated city.
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The Paris Library
Readers craving history, cross-generational friendship, plenty of action, and a whiff of mystery will love this heartfelt decades-spanning novel. Set primarily during the Nazi Occupation of Paris, this novel follows Odile Souchet, a young woman working as a librarian at the American Library. Unwilling to surrender everything she believes in, she joins the Resistance and learns to use what she loves most of all—books—as a weapon against injustice and oppression. Forty years later, living in small-town Montana, Odile befriends a lonely, idealistic teenager who shares an unexpected connection to her buried past.
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The Prince and the Dressmaker
Set in a fictionalized historical Paris, this graphic novel captures all of the city's wonder, excitement, and creativity. By day, Prince Sebastian plays the part of a dutiful son looking for a bride. By night, he lights up the city as Lady Crystallia, a fashion icon. Lady Crystallia isn't the only secret he's keeping: no one knows that his best friend Frances makes the dresses everyone is going wild for. This heartfelt tale of friendship, bravery, dressmaking, and being true to yourself is a joyful romp and a colorful lesson in the history of fashion.
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Anna and the French Kiss
This YA romance is the quintessential Paris rom-com, full of charming near-misses, iconic Parisian landmarks, and plenty of banter. Anna is looking forward to senior year at her high school in Atlanta, so when she learns she's being sent to boarding school in Paris, she's not even a little bit excited. That all changes when she meets the dreamy Étienne St. Clair. This feel-good novel delivers plenty of warm-and-fuzzies alongside emotional depth and stellar characterization.
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The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
First published in 1933, this now-classic memoir offers a fascinating glimpse into the tumultuous lives of Gertrude Stein and the circle of artists, writers, and intellectuals with whom she worked, loved, and fought in the 1920s. Written in the form of an autobiography of her lover Alice B. Toklas, it's a straightforward but often humorous account of a particular time and place, and contains vivid portraits of Picasso, Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, and many others.
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Murder in the Marais
Cara Black's Aimée Leduc mystery series makes for a thrilling guide through Paris's diverse neighborhoods. Each novel is set in a different part of the city. In the first installment, private investigator Aimée Leduc sets out to solve a disturbing murder in Marais, Paris's historic Jewish quarter. Leduc is a compelling heroine, but Black's wonderfully detailed characterization of the city itself gives the stylish, charming investigator a run for her money.
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A Caribbean Heiress in Paris
Set during the1889 Paris Exposition, this sparkling historical romance is witty, sexy, and surprising. Luz Alana arrives in Paris from the Dominican Republic with a single goal: to expand her family's rum business into something extraordinary, and lasting. She's grimly determined to face down whatever rudeness and racism she encounters—the only thing she's not prepared for is the depth of her growing feelings for Evan Sinclair, a charming Scottish whiskey trader.
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