French bildungsromans

' ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: or, The Optimist (1762); and Candide: Optimism''''' (1947). A young man, Candide, lives a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise, being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. This lifestyle is abruptly ended, followed by Candide's slow and painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire

French novel by Stendhal (1830)

1762 essay by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

novel by Gustave Flaubert

Bel-Ami (, "Dear Friend") is the second novel by French author Guy de Maupassant, published in 1885; an English translation titled Bel Ami, or, The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel first appeared in 1903.

novel by Hector Malot

novel by Honoré de Balzac between 1837 and 1843; consists of three parts, starting in provincial France, thereafter moving to Paris, and finally returning to the provinces

novel by French author Alain-Fournier

collection of more than 60 Travel Novels by Jules Verne

thumb|A Swedish translation of Jean-Christophe, 10 parts in 6 volumes Jean-Christophe (1904‒1912) is the novel in 10 volumes by Romain Rolland for which he received the Prix Femina in 1905 and which contributed to his receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915. It was translated into English by Gilbert Cannan.

1898 novel by Jules Verne

didactic novel by François Fénelon

set of three novels by 19th century writer Alexandre Dumas

semi-autobiographical novel by Dai Sijie

novel by George Sand

short story by Jean-Paul Sartre

novel by Colette

1991 novel by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio