Flocking to Paris for literary tourism is one of the best bookish vacations you can take. The last time I went, I visited Edith Wharton’s home and swung by the wealth of bookstores. But outside of the literary history, people have been falling in love in Paris, and France in general, for generations. Historical romances set in France take on the lush, beautiful parts of the country as the settings for love stories.
The historical romances are a lot less Emily in Paris and a lot more Nellie Bly. Women traveling on their own around the world, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, were very intrepid by necessity. These are a few exciting historical romances to get started on your time-travel journey into France.
A Caribbean Heiress in Paris by Adriana HerreraLuz Alana is the heiress of a rum business from the Dominican Republic, looking to expand into France. She arrives in Paris in 1889 during the Exposition Universelle (famously when the Eiffel Tower went up). She meets and quickly begins verbally sparring with James Evanston Sinclair, a Scottish whiskey brand owner. They’re both looking to start over, and are somehow stuck together. |
 Budding Romance by Lara KinseyLooking to leave her oppressive home in England, Dorothea Smythe-Barney runs away to the Côte d’Azur in France to open up a new boarding school. She’s a former headmistress and wants the new school to give people artistic (and personal) freedom, unlike the old school she worked at. The gardener, Nicolette, immediately captivates her. This is a short novella that will leave you itching for a journey to the sea. |
Passing Love by Jacqueline E. LuckettA beautiful story of lost love, this book initially follows Nicole as she runs away from an engagement and off to Paris to find herself. She accidentally comes across a picture of her father with a love note on the back, and tries to track down the woman who wrote it. The book then catapults back to the 1950s, when Paris was full of different possibilities, and people like the mystery woman finding themselves and falling in love. |
 The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels & Other Gentlemen by Victoria AlexanderAlso set in Paris during the Exposition Universelle, we follow India Prendergast in her pursuit of the Lady Travelers Society. She suspects there’s more going on than just vacation, since her cousin Heloise disappeared after supposedly going on a trip with them. But there’s no trace of her, so the nephew of one of the society owners, Derek Saunders, is dispatched to help India find out what happened. He’s a rake and she’s a spinster, so there’s crackling chemistry, like the setup of any classic Victorian romance. |
 A Flame in the Night by Morgan DanteIf you like your historical romance with a touch of supernatural, this is the read for you. It also tapped into my love of season two of Interview with the Vampire. Leon Laflamme and his dancer wife, Claire, are no strangers to the decadence of Paris in the roaring 1920s. However, when Leon starts seeing Count Matthias, he discovers the pleasures of the supernatural underworld. |
France is more than just romance, and more than just Paris. You can travel around France to other bookish towns, and anyone interested in French culture can and should engage with the larger Francophone world.
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