Global Language Literatures

The Oxford History of the French Revolution

Since its first publication to mark the bicentenary of the French Revolution in 1989, this Oxford History has established itself as the Revolution's most authoritative and comprehensive one-volume history in English.

A New History of Medieval French Literature

Part history of literature, part theoretical criticism, this book reshapes the language and content of medieval works. By weaving together topics such as the origin of epic and lyric poetry, Latin-French bilingualism, women’s writing, grammar, authorship, and more, Cerquiglini-Toulet does nothing less than redefine both philosophical and literary approaches to medieval French literature. Her book is a history of the literary act, a history of words, a history of ideas and works—monuments rather than documents—that calls into question modern concepts of literature.

The New Oxford Companion to Literature in French

Rabelais and Montaigne, Moliere and Racine, Stendhal and Proust--the literature of France boasts a long and glorious tradition. In The New Oxford Companion to Literature in French, readers will have at their fingertips a trusted guide to this rich literary heritage.

Encyclopedia of Contemporary French Culture

700+ alphabetically organized entries by an international team of contributors which provide a fascinating survey of French culture post 1945.
 

The Oxford History of the French Revolution

Since its first publication to mark the bicentenary of the French Revolution in 1989, this Oxford History has established itself as the Revolution's most authoritative and comprehensive one-volume history in English.

Swann's Way

n Swann's Way, the themes of Proust's masterpiece are introduced, and the narrator's childhood in Paris and Combray is recalled, most memorably in the evocation of the famous maternal good-night kiss. The recollection of the narrato'.s love for Swann's daughter Gilberte leads to an account of Swann's passion for Odette and the rise of the nouveaux riches Verdurins.

Astérix Gladiateur

French comic book series recounting the tales of Astérix, the last heroic Gaul holding out against the Roman conquest.

Candide

Candide recounts the fantastically improbable travels, adventures, and misfortunes of the young Candide, his beloved Cune;gonde, and his devoutly optimistic tutor, Pangloss. Endowed at the start with good fortune and every prospect for happiness and success, the characters nevertheless encounter every conceivable misfortune. Voltaire’s philosophical tale, in part an ironic attack on the optimistic thinking of such figures as G. W. Leibniz and Alexander Pope, has proved enormously influential over the years. In a general introduction to this volume, historian Johnson Kent Wright places Candide in the contexts of Voltaire’s life and work and the Age of Enlightenment.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses

The complex moral ambiguities of seduction and revenge make Les Liaisons dangereuses (1782) one of the most scandalous and controversial novels in European literature. Its prime movers, the Vicomte de Valmont and the Marquise de Merteuil--gifted, wealthy, and bored--form an unholy alliance and turn seduction into a game. And they play this game with such wit and style that it is impossible not to admire them, until they discover mysterious rules that they cannot understand. In the ensuing battle there can be no winners, and the innocent suffer with the guilty.

Madame Bovary

When Emma Rouault marries dull, provincial doctor Charles Bovary, her dreams of an elegant and passionate life crumble. She escapes into sentimental novels but finds her fantasies dashed by the tedium of her days. Motherhood proves to be a burden; religion is only a brief distraction. She spends lavishly and embarks on a series of disappointing affairs. Soon heartbroken and crippled by debts, Emma takes drastic action with tragic consequences for her husband and daughter. When published in 1857, Madame Bovary was embraced by bourgeois women who claimed it spoke to the frustrations of their lives.

Swann's Way

n Swann's Way, the themes of Proust's masterpiece are introduced, and the narrator's childhood in Paris and Combray is recalled, most memorably in the evocation of the famous maternal good-night kiss. The recollection of the narrato'.s love for Swann's daughter Gilberte leads to an account of Swann's passion for Odette and the rise of the nouveaux riches Verdurins.

Fitzcarraldo

The story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an extremely determined man who intends to build an opera house in the middle of a jungle.

Awakenings

Based on a true story told by Dr Oliver Sacks, Awakenings focuses with exquisite detail on the experiences of a few extraordinary people affected by a disease known as encephalitis lethargica, or the “sleepy sickness”

The Doctor

And The Band Played On

The story of the discovery of the AIDS epidemic, and the political infighting of the scientific community hampering the early fight with it.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

When Randle Patrick McMurphy  gets transferred for evaluation from a prison farm to a mental institution, he assumes it will be a less restrictive environment. But the martinet Nurse Ratched  runs the psychiatric ward with an iron fist, keeping her patients cowed through abuse, medication and sessions of electroconvulsive therapy. The battle of wills between the rebellious McMurphy and the inflexible Ratched soon affects all the ward's patients.

My Left Foot

Christy Brown, born with cerebral palsy, learns to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot.

My Father's Glory (La gloire de mon père)

Raised by his science teacher father, Joseph Pagnol, and seamstress mother Augustine, young Marcel  grows up during the turn of the century in awe of his rationalist dad. When the family takes a summer vacation in the countryside, Marcel becomes friends with Lili, who teaches him about rural life. Meanwhile, tensions between Joseph and his religious brother-in-law, Jules, grow during their hunting expeditions.

Le Château de ma Mère

Every holiday Marcel and his family go to their cottage near Marseilles. During one of these holidays he meets Isabelle, a pretty but conceited girl... Adapted from the cult classic novel from Marcel Pagnol.

L'Auberge Espagnole

Xavier  is a French university student who moves to Spain to learn Spanish in order to score a desirable job. Residing in a house with other young Europeans of varied nationalities, Xavier has a life-altering experience living in such an international environment.

The French Revolution

The history of the conflict proceeds from the first uprisings, to the downfall of the king (Jean-François Balmer), to the execution of Robespierre.

The Last Days

In late 1944, even as they faced imminent defeat, the Nazis expended enormous resources to kill or deport over 425,000 Jews during the "cleansing" of Hungary. This Oscar-winning documentary, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, focuses on the plight of five Hungarian Jews who survived imprisonment in Auschwitz.

Le retour de Martin Guerre

Years after his family thought he died, Martin Guerre  returns home from the Hundred Years' War. But is he really Martin Guerre? His wife, Bertrande de Rols, has her doubts, as do some of her fellow villagers. Guerre's personality has completely changed; a man who was once angry and sullen is now likable and kind. As they become convinced they have an impostor on their hands, a local magistrate charges the man with Martin Guerre's murder.

The Mission

Eighteenth-century Spanish Jesuits try to protect a remote South American tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal.

House of Sand and Fog

An abandoned wife is evicted from her house and starts a tragic conflict with her house's new owners.

The Mosquito Coast

An idealist uproots his family to a remote Caribbean island, away from the consumerism which he perceives to be choking America. He sets about creating a Utopia in the jungle by bringing ice to the natives and uses his genius for making gadgets to enhance their primitive lifestyle. However, he also alienates his long-suffering family, and his enterprise proves fatally flawed.

Fitzcarraldo

The story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an extremely determined man who intends to build an opera house in the middle of a jungle.