Reading List for the Canal du Midi
A recent Athos passenger asked a new question the other day: Could I suggest a Canal du Midi Reading List for his week onboard Athos?
I’m still disappointed I didn’t think of it myself! Who doesn’t love a few suggested “reads” before taking off to travel somewhere new?
The list below is NOT an exhaustive list – just the titles which spring most quickly to mind. They are a collection of fiction, historical fiction, historical research, and even a few wine and cheese titles. All either cover topics relevant to the culture and history of Southwest France, particularly Carcassonne, or they take place in the surrounding area.
Canal du Midi Reading List
HISTORY:
- The Friar of Carcassonne, author Stephen O’Shea (historical research)
- The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln. (historical research)
- The Religion, Tim Willocks
FICTION
- Suite Française, author Irène Nemirovsky (written during wartime France, the manuscript found after the author’s death).
- Labyrinth, Kate Mosse (fiction)
- Sepulchre, Kate Mosse
- Citadel, Kate Mosse
- The Heretic’s Treasure, Scott Mariani (fiction)
- Pillars of the Earth, author Ken Follett (historical fiction)
- The Virgin Blue, author Tracy Chevalier (historical fiction)
- The DaVinci Code, author Dan Brown (fiction)
- All the Light we Cannot See, author Anthony Doerr (France wartime fiction)
- La Bête Humain, Emile Zola (19thC French thriller Classic).
WINE AND CHEESE
- Languedoc Roussillon, the Wines and Winemakers, Paul Strang
- Wines of the Languedoc, (The Infinite Ideas Classic Wine Library) by Rosemary George
- French Cheeses, The Visual Guide… by Kazuko Masui & Tomoko Yamada
DOCUMENTARY & GUIDES
- My Life in France, Julian Child
- Narrow Dog to Carcassonne, author Terry Darlington (documentary)
- Fortress Churches of the Languedoc, Sheila Bonde
- The Roads to Santiago de la Compostela, MSM 1999-2004
Go right ahead and Click here to email any suggestions you might like to add!
