The Best Books to Learn French, Level by Level
The best French books for each level, from grammar guides and graded readers to real novels, plus our own data on which French classics are easiest to read.
The best French book is the one matching your level. Start with a grammar guide and graded readers, move to short modern novels, then try the classics. We have no deal with any publisher here, and we've included our own data on the classics we publish.
Beginner (A1 to A2)
- Easy French Step-by-Step, Myrna Bell Rochester. Builds grammar gradually, with plenty of practice.
- Practice Makes Perfect: Complete French Grammar, Annie Heminway. Good for working through rules and exercises.
- Short Stories in French for Beginners, Olly Richards. Stories written for learners, so you can read early.
Intermediate (B1 to B2)
- Le Petit Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Short and famous. Its vocabulary is simple, though its ideas aren't.
- Le Petit Nicolas, Goscinny and Sempé. Funny school stories told by a child.
- L'Étranger, Albert Camus. Short, plain sentences make it a classic first serious novel.
Upper intermediate and beyond: the classics
Sentence length isn't everything, but long sentences do wear learners out. So we measured the openings of the French classics in our library.
| Book | Author | Words measured | Average words per sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Grand Meaulnes | Alain-Fournier | 2,100 | 22 |
| Madame Bovary | Flaubert | 3,100 | 23 |
| Boule de Suif | Maupassant | 2,500 | 25 |
| Le Père Goriot | Balzac | 4,900 | 27 |
| Eugénie Grandet | Balzac | 1,300 | 28 |
| Les Trois Mousquetaires | Dumas | 800 | 34 |
Treat this as a rough guide. It covers only the openings, and the count is automatic. The Dumas sample is short and opens with his long preface, so the adventure itself reads more easily than that number suggests.
Our suggestions:
- Start with Boule de Suif. It's a short story, so you can finish it, and Maupassant is direct.
- Then try Le Grand Meaulnes. It has the shortest sentences we measured.
- Save Balzac for later. He opens with long descriptions, and those are demanding at any level.
How to choose
Read the first page before you commit. If you can follow what's happening, the book is a good fit. Every book in the table links to its opening pages for free, with a translation under every line and no account needed. You can also learn more about how reading helps.
If you need help with the grammar along the way, try our free French grammar lessons.
Our Learn French app has these classics in full with a translation under every line, along with vocabulary, grammar and graded reading to get you there. It's free to download, though some books and extra content need diamonds you earn while learning, or Premium.