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Original poster

Books about France in WWII

29 replies

LittleBowSheep · 14/06/2026 12:26

Looking for recommendations for books based in France during WWII please.

I've already read the following:
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks

Either fiction or non-fiction is fine. Thank you.

OP posts:
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Abra1t · 28/06/2026 19:45

The Midwife’s Promise.

JillThePlantKiller · 28/06/2026 19:44

I read this over Christmas and couldn’t put it down. Virginia Hall was incredible.

Arran2024 · 28/06/2026 19:41

This is a bit unusual but I loved it - Fatherland by Burkhard Bilger. It is set in Alsace, which of course was part of France but regarded as German by Germany. The author's German grandfather was posted to a village there and ordered to re-educate its children.

Wofflewaffle · 28/06/2026 19:21

MissHavershamReturns · 14/06/2026 14:16

Suite francaise is a tour du force.

Yes, I agree. I’m going to go back and read it again. I am British but live in France and it’s absolutely fascinating reading about the French experience of WW2 because it’s so very different to that of Britain. There are plaques all around our neighbourhood (Lyon) detailing the horrors of the war and occupation. My son’s high school (lycée) has a plaque outside to commemorate the Jewish students and teachers who were rounded up, taken to the velodrome in our local park then taken to Auschwitz. On the wall of their primary school there’s a plaque to commemorate local members of the Resistance who were rounded up then executed against the school wall. 😔. Horrible.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn.

tobee · 15/06/2026 22:42

I enjoyed Death in Bordeaux by Allan Massie. It’s part of a trilogy, although I’ve only read the first so far.

Meridas · 15/06/2026 22:31

A few of Fiona Valpy's novels are set in France during WWII.

mylifeisexams · 14/06/2026 23:23

The Great Swindle by Pierre Lemaitre but it’s set just after the First World War.

Musicaltheatremum · 14/06/2026 18:30

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
In memoriam. By Alice Winn.

shellyleppard · 14/06/2026 18:04

Birdsong by Sebastian faulks is a really good book. I also love the light we cannot see

RainyDaysAndGlumDays · 14/06/2026 18:03

Aeiel Lawson - Code Name Hélène

Arran2024 · 14/06/2026 18:00

cassandre · 14/06/2026 14:14

The Postcard by Anne Berest (translated from the French). It's a novel but based on her real life story, as she embarks on a quest to find out what happened to her French Jewish family members during the war.

I second @benvenuto's recommendation of Les Mandarins!

I second The Postcard. One of my most favourite books ever

MissMarplesNiece · 14/06/2026 15:17

Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks

Original poster
LittleBowSheep · 14/06/2026 14:53

Thank you for all your responses. Looks like some fantastic suggestions here, I shall have a look at them all.

OP posts:
EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 14/06/2026 14:41

Oh and A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell

Somersetbaker · 14/06/2026 14:26

The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour. She died in 2023 and was the last surviving member of the SOE's French Section.The Nancy Wake biography is also very good. Two exceptionally brave ladies.

BeforetheFlood · 14/06/2026 14:17

I’m currently reading The Shock of the Light by Lori Inglis Hall, which I think is newly out. I’m about halfway through and it’s fabulous so far, though I have a feeling it might be a heartbreaker. It’s set in occupied France with brother/sister twins who are SOE and RAF

MissHavershamReturns · 14/06/2026 14:16

Suite francaise is a tour du force.

cassandre · 14/06/2026 14:14

The Postcard by Anne Berest (translated from the French). It's a novel but based on her real life story, as she embarks on a quest to find out what happened to her French Jewish family members during the war.

I second @benvenuto's recommendation of Les Mandarins!

WaterWall22 · 14/06/2026 14:13

The Barman of the Ritz by Philippe Collin. A fascinating true story about Frank Meyer who served the Germans at the Ritz throughout the occupation - he was Jewish himself!

notimagain · 14/06/2026 14:12

Cruel Crossing by Edward Stourton.

Mostly about the trans-Pyrenean escape routes south of Toulouse, but also covers some of general resistance activities efforts in the region and some of less widely known atrocities that happened as a result.

Benvenuto · 14/06/2026 14:10

Operation Zig-Zag by Ben McIntyre - non-fiction about a double agent
Les Mandarins (the Mandarins) by Simone de Beauvoir is an autobiographical roman à clef about French intellectuals in the War.

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 14/06/2026 14:00

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Terpsichore · 14/06/2026 13:07

Fair Stood the Wind for France - H E Bates. I read this recently and loved it. English airmen crash-land in occupied France and have to try and make their way back home.

On a slightly similar theme - Pied Piper - Nevil Shute.

LilyLemonade · 14/06/2026 13:05

Scum of the Earth by Arthur Koestler - a hard read but incredibly clear-sighted about what was coming down the line.