The French Revolution
Criteria: notable fiction books, including novels, story collections, plays, etc involving the French Revolution, taking place during the French Revolution, or heavily inspired by the French Revolution. Books do not need to represent events accurately to be on this list. Includes everything from classics to current day works. Centered around 1789 Revolution but notable works regarding later events like the June Rebellion may be included if considered relevant to this list.
created by moontea
last updated May, 2026
Comments
when i was in secondary school, they made us read a book a young women from our time that was teleported back in time to 1767. it’s not quite in time for the revolution, but just close enough that you could feel the tension building throughout the book. the concept in of itself was a little bit ridiculous though 😅
moonteaOP
I always love those "teleported back in time" stories though, no matter how silly 🤭
the series is not on PB right now and only in french, but it’s by louise royer. the first book is called ipod et minijupe au 18e siècle
it’s more the sequels that got reallh weird? she fell in love with an 18th century guy, they went back to the 21st century together and then the guy got sent back to 2001 to investigate 9/11??? like what????
moonteaOP
That sounds so bizarre omg 🤭🤭🤭
I heavily recommend the Josephine B Trilogy by Sarah Gulland, which spawned my French Revolution special interest in high school
moonteaOP
Thank you! I added it now ✨✨
moonteaOP
Alexandre Dumas Series
I'm not adding all of these into the above list but I'm leaving this in the comments (information below copied and pasted from the Wikipedia article)
The Marie Antoinette romances
The Marie Antoinette romances comprise eight novels. The unabridged versions (normally 100 chapters or more) comprise only five books (numbers 1, 3, 4, 7 and 8); the short versions (50 chapters or less) number eight in total:
1: Joseph Balsamo (Mémoires d'un médecin: Joseph Balsamo, 1846–48) (a.k.a. Memoirs of a Physician, Cagliostro, Madame Dubarry, The Countess Dubarry, or The Elixir of Life). Joseph Balsamo is about 1000 pages long, and is usually published in two volumes in English translations: Vol 1. Joseph Balsamo and Vol 2. Memoirs of a Physician. The long unabridged version includes the contents of book two, Andrée de Taverney; the short abridged versions usually are divided in Balsamo and Andrée de Taverney as completely different books.
2: Andrée de Taverney, or The Mesmerist's Victim
3: The Queen's Necklace (Le Collier de la Reine, (1849−1850)
4: Ange Pitou (1853) (a.k.a. Storming the Bastille or Six Years Later). From this book, there are long unabridged versions which include the contents of book five, but there are many short versions that treat "The Hero of the People" as a separated volume.
5: The Hero of the People
6: The Royal Life Guard or The Flight of the Royal Family.
7: The Countess de Charny (La Comtesse de Charny, 1853–1855). As with other books, there are long unabridged versions which include the contents of book six; but many short versions that leave contents in The Royal Life Guard as a separate volume.
8: Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge (1845) (a.k.a. The Knight of the Red House, or The Knight of Maison-Rouge)
The Sainte-Hermine trilogy
1: The Companions of Jehu (Les Compagnons de Jehu, 1857)
2: The Whites and the Blues (Les Blancs et les Bleus, 1867)
3: The Knight of Sainte-Hermine (Le Chevalier de Sainte-Hermine, 1869) Dumas's last novel, unfinished at his death, was completed by scholar Claude Schopp and published in 2005.[34] It was published in English in 2008 as The Last Cavalier.
moonteaOP
Note: By "notable" I also include works by notable authors, unique takes on the period/concept, or historically relevant books, which might not necessarily be the highest rated or have the best execution. So, it's more of a gathering of notable books on the subject but not a personal recommendation list, though there are also great books on the list.
