French Press Classics

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Heroes, adventure, duels, the high seas, and of course love. These french classics have it all, and their literary mastery are well admired. I have a soft spot for epic tales and romanticism, and I hold these three among favorites.

Here are my favorite French presses:

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration. Dumas’ epic tale of suffering and retribution, inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment, was a huge popular success when it was first serialized in the 1840s.

Rated: 4.6 on amazon.com
chocolat-chaud-ouvertureBook Bean: Chocolat l’ancienne
Rich and decadent melted dark chocolate poured into cups, and served alongside it’s own separate dish of fresh whipped cream. So thick and creamy, I’ll have mine with Un café  please!


Les Misérables by Victore Hugo
Published in 1862 and considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. Within this dramatic story are themes that capture the intellect and the emotions: crime and punishment, the relentless persecution of Valjean by Javert, the desperation of Fantine, the amorality of the rogue Thénardier, and the universal desire to escape the prisons of our own minds. A beautiful and haunting story that many can relate to and easily fall in love with. It is a richly complex emotional tale of good vs. evil and true redemption.
Trucos-para-preparar-un-café-5-estrellas-en-casa
Rated: 4.7 on amazon.com
Book Bean: Un café
A coffee, plain and simple, but not as we would have in the U.S. Order “Un Café”  and you will get a small cup of plain strong espresso.

 

 The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
An adventurous tale of the young man d’Artagnan. Leaving home to travel to Paris, d’Artagnan wishes to join the Musketeers of the Guard. He is not one of the musketeers of the title but befriends Athos, Porthos and Aramis (inseparable friends who live by the motto “all for one, one for all.”) This motto which is first put forth by d’Artagnan, has become a most well known and loved signet. This a historical fiction full of memorable adventure and characters.

cafe_au_laitRated: 4.4 on amazon.com
Book Bean: Cafè au Lait
A coffee with hot milk added (In comparison to the Itallian caffè latte.) In the U.S.  a café au lait is a drink of strong drip coffee or French pressed coffee, to which steamed milk is added.

 

Auguste Maquet was a French author, best known as the chief collaborator of French novelist Alexandre Dumas,  co-writing such works as
The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.

Fun Fact: Les Misérables as a whole is one of the longest ever written, with approximately 1,500 pages in unabridged English-language editions, and 1,900 pages in French. 

Do you have a favorite french classic, and/or a favorite french author?

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30 thoughts on “French Press Classics”

  3. My excitement for the week was finding “The Complete Beau Geste Trilogy” by P.C.Wren on Amazon.ca. This is an incredible adventure. “The ocean, the desert, and the jungle are the last strongholds and resorts of peace.” P.C. Wren. As for “The Count of Monte Cristo” – I was caught reading it in math class. I really should have waited for history class, but alas, it was a page turner that couldn’t be put down.

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  7. When my boy was 10 or so, he stepped into the school Library asking for Alexander Dumas and the Count:) The Librarian joyfully showed him to the High school side of the room. The other fourth graders were shocked to see a classmate enter the “older” kids side! They didn’t know in Dumas the password reside:) To this day, the retired Librarian will remind him and me of this when we happen across her in town:) Oh the wonders of reading:)

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  10. I have to add all of these books to my summer reading list! I admit, I completely forgot the Three Musketeers was actually (originally) a book. 😮

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  12. I read Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos for a French class in college. I’m afraid I had a hard time with it because I was constantly referring to a dictionary – I’m not sure I belonged in that class! Thankfully, I also read it for an English class and enjoyed it very much! And of course, Madame Bovary is one of the all-time best!

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  15. Ah, Dumas- fantastic. And I do love a good cafe au lait as well! Spent a little time in Paris long ago, and loved to sit at the cafes drinking them, smoking (a bad habit I’ve since quit), and feeling so Parisian (the naivete of youth).

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  16. Dumas stands above all, of course. But the list is long: Corneille, Racine, Molière, Villon, Chataubriand, Baudelaire (who translated Poe into French), jumping to Camus and Saint-Exupéry… Now to read Monte-Cristo you probably need a drop of Cognac in your Café… 😉

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