10 books, hymns to love, to explore passion, emotions and the secrets of the heart

They have crossed centuries, continents and sensibilities. Courteous, passionate, impossible or silent, these books tell the story of love in all its forms. A literary selection by Marie-Laure Vallée, to read with the heart wide open, between grand declarations and whispered emotions. Here are 10 books to read or give as gifts…

THE MOST ROMANTIC

AtalaFrançois-René de Chateaubriand, éditions Livre de poche.
The impossible union of two young Indians in wide-open America.

In the wilds of Louisiana, Chateaubriand imagines a passion hindered by faith and destiny. Atala, a young Christian raised to moral rigor, loves Chactas, a free-spirited Indian warrior. Their flight through forests, rivers and deserts becomes a melancholy song, in which nature reflects her inner torments. Short but intensely lyrical, Atala marks the emergence of French Romanticism. The text blends religious fervor, restrained sensuality and a fascination for wide-open spaces, outlining a love story in which beauty is born precisely from the impossible.

THE MOST MODERN

The Last LoveGeorge Sand, éditions L’Archipel poche.
1843. Félicie, then married to Sylvestre, takes the liberty of loving another man.
George Sand signs her commitment and defense of women’s rights and freedoms. Avant-garde!

HIGHLIGHT: GEORGE SAND YEAR
To mark the 150ᵉ anniversary of his death, numerous events will be organized in 2026.

In this late novel, George Sand explores the contradictions of the female heart in a society corseted by convention. Félicie is neither a scandalous heroine nor a sacrificial figure: she thinks, chooses and doubts. Through her, Sand questions marriage, desire, fidelity and the possibility for a woman to live in sincere love without renouncing her dignity. The style is sober, almost intimate, leaving plenty of room for inner reflection. A text of astonishing freedom, in which love becomes an act of conscience as much as an impulse of the heart.

THE MOST ENCHANTING

Tales from the AlhambraWashington Irving, Libretto Editions.
Granada in the XIXᵉ century. Washington Irving, captivated by the setting, drew inspiration from the Arabian Nights for his enchanting tales of Moorish Andalusia.

Based in the Alhambra itself, Washington Irving gathers legends, folk tales and historical memories to compose these tales steeped in mystery. Ghosts, oriental princesses, knights and forgotten treasures run through these stories where love slips in like a fragile promise. The décor, omnipresent, almost becomes a character: shady patios, murmuring fountains, walls charged with memory. Somewhere between reality and fantasy, the author offers a romantic vision of Andalusia, where love is tinged with nostalgia and wonder.

THE MOST UNEXPECTED

I’m crazy about youDominique Bona, éditions Grasset.
The 67-year-old poet Paul Valéry falls head over heels in love with Jeanne Voilier, a fiery lawyer and publisher. A passionate relationship!

With finesse, Dominique Bona retraces this late passion, ardent and unbalanced, which seized Paul Valéry at an age when one would have thought the impulses had subsided. Through letters, diaries and personal accounts, she reconstructs an intense, sometimes painful love, in which the poet reveals himself to be vulnerable, jealous and burning. Jeanne Voilier embodies a free, modern woman who fascinates as much as she eludes. This story highlights the undiminished power of desire, even in the autumn of life, and reminds us that love never obeys timetables.

THE HAPPIEST

Hô les cœursVéronique Sauquière-Hubert, éditions Passiflore.
In this illustrated book, accompanied by quotations, the heart in all its states is conjugated in all tenses.

Conceived as a visual and sensitive promenade, Hô les cœurs celebrates love in its most luminous forms. Each page combines images, words and quotations to evoke the joy of love, impulse, expectation and tenderness. This is not a linear narrative, but a notebook of emotions, to be leafed through as the mood takes you. The heart becomes a motif, a symbol and a universal language. A book to give as a gift or as a present, reminding us that love can also be light, playful and deeply comforting.

THE MOST INTENSE

Wuthering HeightsEmily Brontë, Folio poche.
The tormented union of Catherine and Heathcliff under the raging elements of the moors.

L’ATOUT : LE FILM
Hurlevent on screens February 11, 2026 with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.

A novel of raw passion, Hurlevent depicts a love that transcends social, moral and even human boundaries. Catherine and Heathcliff love each other in the violence of their feelings, unable to live together, unable to part. The windswept moor reflects this dark, obsessive intensity. Emily Brontë composes a radical work, where love merges with destruction and fidelity with suffering. A hypnotic text that continues to unsettle with its emotional force.

THE MOST DREAMLIKE

Bruges-la-MorteGeorges Rodenbach, published by Folio poche.
A widower, Hugues thinks he sees his late wife again in the guise of a stranger in a Bruges alleyway.

In this emblematic work of symbolism, Bruges becomes the mirror of grief and obsession. Hugues, inconsolable, projects his lost love onto a woman who strangely resembles him. The city, silent and frozen, accompanies this inner drift. Canals, bells and deserted streets create a waking-dream atmosphere, where reality and illusion merge. Bruges-la-Morte explores love as a melancholy fixation, unable to detach itself from the past, in a prose of great musicality.

THE MOST MOVING

Letter from an unknown womanStefan Zweig, Livre de poche.
The story of a stranger who confesses her love to the man she has secretly loved all her life.

HIGHLIGHT: THE FILM
The 1948 version starring Louis Jourdan and Joan Fontaine, recently screened at the Escurial cinema as part of the Nuits Americaines series hosted by Olivier Minne.

In this long letter written as death approaches, a woman reveals a silent love lived in the shadows. The man she loves has never recognized or understood her. Stefan Zweig unfolds a monologue of rare intensity, where passion mingles with self-effacement. The text questions memory, selfish love and the asymmetry of feelings. This sobering tale is striking in its psychological accuracy and leaves a lasting impression.

THE MOST CONVENTIONAL

Les Destinées sentimentalesJacques Chardonne, éditions Albin Michel.
The fate of Pauline and Jean in the bourgeoisie of the early XXᵉ century.

Across several generations, Jacques Chardonne observes love caught up in the social, familial and moral frameworks of the French bourgeoisie. Feelings are subdued, contained, sometimes sacrificed for the sake of duty. Pauline and Jean embody these lives of restrained love, where choices are made as much by reason as by inclination. The elegant, measured style accompanies this lucid vision of human relationships. A subtle novel about time, fidelity and silent renunciation.

THE OLDEST

Le Roman de la RoseGuillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, published by Livre de poche.
Courtly poem on the art of seduction, taken up by the troubadours of the Middle Ages.

One of the most famous allegories of love in medieval literature, Le Roman de la Rose takes the form of a dream. The narrator enters a walled garden, a symbolic place of desire, where each character embodies a stage or obstacle of love: Bel Accueil, Danger, Jalousie, Raison. Guillaume de Lorris composes the delicate, codified first part, before Jean de Meun extends the narrative in a more critical, abundant register. The text explores seduction as a subtle art, made up of patience, words and rituals, offering a precious testimony to medieval amorous thought.

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