Subject Guide: French Language and Literature
Find Books and Audio-Visual Materials:
Find Articles and Reviews:
- Use a Journal Index to find articles on a given topic.
- HELP: How do I search for articles?
Reference Sources in the Library:
- A select list of resources available in the Library's Reference Collection.
Web Resources:
- A select list of resources available on the Web.
Citation Guides:
- Use these guides (MLA Guide, Other guides) to learn how to cite the materials you find and create a bibliography.
Course Related Guides:
Reference Sources in the Library:
The following is a select list of guides, companions, dictionaries, encyclopedias and other reference sources. Items listed here can generally be found on the Main floor of the R.P. Bell Library (REF = Reference, Main Floor).
Language
Literature
Reference Sources
French Language Dictionaries & Glossaries
Unilingual:
Dictionnaire de la langue française (Le Grand Robert). 9 vols. PC 2625 .R63 REF
This is the most important French unilingual dictionary with full etymologies and corresponding examples from French literature.
Le Petit Robert / Le Nouveau Petit Robert. PC 2625 .R56 REF
An abbreviated version of the Grand Robert, but more frequently updated.
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2013 version available online: on campus access | off campus access
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2008 online version available on campus workstations: Click Start, then “All Programs.” Note: Please log out when done as the number of simultaneous users allowed is limited.
Dictionnaire culturel en langue française. 4 vols. PC 2625 .D445 2005 REF
Not just definitions, but also has short articles on ideas surrounding key terms in art, literature, religion, etc.
Multidictionnaire de la langue française. PC 2625 .V54 2009 REF
Provides usage notes with most definitions (e.g. how to conjugate, Quebecois terms, spelling, syntax, pronunciation, etc.)
Bilingual:
Le Grand Robert & Collins dictionnaire français-anglais, anglais-français. 2 vols. PC 2640 .G735 2008 REF (Online version available on campus workstations: Click Start, then "All Programs". Note: Please log out when done as the number of simultaneous users allowed is limited.)
Le grand dictionnaire Hachette-Oxford: français-anglais, anglais-français. PC 2640 .O94 2007 REF (CD-ROM version available on campus via “Academic Programs” as part of “Oxford SuperLex”.) Updated online version: Oxford Language Dictionaries Online (OLDO) (Off-campus)
Harrap's Unabridged Dictionnaire Anglais-Français, Français-Anglais. 2 vols. PC 2640 .H29 2001 REF
Larousse Fre-Eng, Eng-Fre Dictionary. PC 2640 .G68 2007 REF
TERMIUM and TERMIUM Plus: The Electronic Trilingual Dictionary and Linguistic Database of the Government of Canada Translation Bureau.
Coverage: French, English and Spanish terms, with definitions and documentation.
- TERMIUM Plus: http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/ | Mt.A Libraries TermiumPlus Guide (.pdf)
- TERMIUM (2001 CD-ROM ed.): Available in the R.P. Bell Library, Ask at Circulation Desk.
Anglicisms and Faux Amis:
Le Colpron: Le dictionnaire des anglicismes. PC 3608 .C583 REF
Dictionnaire des expressions et tournures calquées sur l'anglais. PC 2582 .E5 P37 2006 REF
Faux Amis and Key Words. PC 2640 .T5 REF
Le VocabulAIDE. PC 2582 .E5 C37 REF
Cultural References:
Routledge Dictionary of Cultural References in Modern French. PC 2766 .M68 2011 REF
Geographic Focus:
Dictionary of Louisiana French. PC 3680 .U7 L734 2009 REF
Dictionnaire du français acadien. PC 3643 .C67 1999 REF
Dictionnaire historique du français québécois. PC 3643 .D53 REF
Provides etymologies with historical literary examples. Includes some Acadian terms.
Dictionnaire québécois français. PC 3643 .M45 1999 REF
Dictionnaire universel francophone. PC 2625 .D54 1997 REF
Has French terms and usage from all francophone countries in the world.
Le glossaire acadien. PC 3645 .M37 P6 1995a REF
By Pascal Poirier, Centre d’études acadiennes, U. de Moncton.
Gestures:
Dictionnaire des gestes. P 117 .C373 2005 REF
Chapters are organized by the body parts used.
Historical Focus:
Dictionnaire historique de la langue française. 2 vols. PC 2625 .D5 REF
Covers 842 to the 1990's.
Dictionnaire de la langue française du XVIe siècle. 7 vols. PC 2650 .H7 REF
Dictionnaire du français classique. PC 2650 .D83 REF
17th century French.
Idioms and Expressions:
2001 French & English Idioms/2001 idiotismes français et anglais. PC 2640 .S53 REF
Dictionnaire d'idiotismes français-anglais. PC 2640 .H22 2006 REF
Dictionnaire des locutions idiomatiques françaises. PC 2460 .L34 REF
Sur le bout de la langue: 3000 expressions françaises et anglaises. PC 2460 .C68 REF
Slang and Colloquial Language:
Argot et français populaire. PC 3741 .C64 REF
Dictionnaire bilingue de l’argot d’aujourd’hui. PC 3741 .B78 REF
Street French Slang Dictionary and Thesaurus. PC 3741 .B86 REF
Specific Subject Focus:
Government of Canada Translation Bureau Glossaries. CA1 SS5.50... Government Documents (Basement). Dozens of glossaries on specific topics (pre 1996). More recent editions on the Translation Bureau web site covering topics such as women and development, Internet, e-commerce, geotextiles, etc.
Other subject specific dictionaries can be found searching the library catalogue using the keywords: French and Dictionaries and subject keyword, (e.g. French and dictionaries and marketing)
Specific Style:
Le français au bureau. PC 2120 .C6 G9 REF
Québec. Office de la langue française.
French Correspondence. PC 2483 .F74 REF
Media French. PC 2460 .R58 REF
Synonyms and Antonyms:
Cambridge French-English Thesaurus. PC 2591 .L24 REF
Dictionnaire de synonymes et contraires. PC 2591 .B485 REF
Dictionnaire des synonymes et analogies. PC 2591 .D53 REF
Using French Synonyms. PC 2591 .B37 REF
Visual Dictionaries:
5 Languages Visual Dictionary. P 361 .A15 REF
Bilingual Visual Dictionary. PC 2640 .B55 REF
Dictionnaire thématique visuel. PC 2625 .D525 REF
Grammar & Usage Guides
L’Art de conjuger. Bescherelle. PC 2272 .A78 REF
Le bon usage. Grevisse. PC 2111 .G7937 REF
Canadian Style: A Guide to Writing and Editing. Ottawa: Bureau de la traduction and Dundurn Press. PN 147 C36 REF.
English usage and style guide for writers and translators translating into English. (Also online in the Language Portal.)
Dictionnaire des Cooccurrences. PC 2445 .B286 REF
Provides examples from journals and magazines and well-known writers, of the phrases, adjectives and verbs commonly used with a term. (Also online in the Language Portal.)
Dictionnaire des règles du français. Larousse Maxi poche. PC 2107 .D53 2008 REF
French Reference Grammar: A Complete Handbook of the French Language.
PC 2112 .C26 REF
GIFT French Grammar at Your Own Pace for Windows. By Language Training Canada. CA1 CS 96G32 2002 CD-ROM Ask for at Circ. Desk: Use at CD-ROM Workstation, REF
La grammaire d’aujourd’hui. Paris: Flammarion. PC 2112 .A77 REF
Guide du rédacteur. Ottawa: Bureau de la traduction. Z 253 .G84 REF
An excellent guide by the federal government Translation Bureau to common difficulties in French usage and style. (Also online in the Language Portal.)
Lexique analogique. Ottawa: Bureau de la traduction. CA1 SS5 97L21 Gov Docs (Basement)
Provides French equivalents for common English terms that are hard to translate. (Also online in the Language Portal.)
La nouvelle grammaire en tableaux. By Marie-Eva de Villers. PC 2105 .V54 REF
reference sources | return to top
Literature
General
Beaumarchais, Jean-Pierre de, Daniel Couty, and Alain Rey. Dictionnaire des littératures de langue française. 3 vols. Paris: Bordas, c1984- . PQ 41 B4 1984 REF
Dolbow, Sandra W. Dictionary of modern French literature : from the age of reason through realism. New York: Greenwood Press, 1986. PQ 41 D65 1986 REF
Flower, John. Historical Dictionary of French Literature. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2013. PQ 41 .F58 2013 REF
France, Peter, ed. The new Oxford companion to literature in French. Oxford; New York: Clarendon Press, 1995. PQ 41 .N48 1995 REF
Grente, Cardinal Georges, ed. Dictionnaire des lettres françaises. Rev. ed. 2 vols. [Paris]: Fayard, 1992- . PQ 41 .D55 1992 REF
Grente, Georges Grente, et al., eds. Dictionnaire des lettres françaises : le dix-neuvième siècle. 2 vols. Paris: Librairie Arthème Fayard, 1971-1972. PQ 41 G7 REF
Levi, Anthony. Guide to French literature : 1789 to the present. Chicago: St. James Press, c1992. PQ 226 L48 1992 REF
---. Guide to French literature : beginnings to 1789. Detroit : St. James Press, 1994. PQ 151 L48 1994 REF
Mitterand, Henri, ed. Dictionnaire des grandes oeuvres de la littérature française. Paris: Dictionnaires Le Robert, c1992. PQ 41 .D468 1992 REF
Popkin, Debra and Michael Popkin, eds. Modern French literature : a library of literary criticism. 2 vols. New York: Ungar, c1977. PQ 306 M57 REF
Sinnreich-Levi, Deborah and Ian S. Laurie, eds. Literature of the French and Occitan Middle Ages : eleventh to fifteenth centuries. Dictionary of literary biography. Detroit : Gale Group, c1999. PQ 151 .L57 1999 REF
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Fiction
Brosman, Catharine Savage, ed. French novelists, 1900-1930. Dictionary of literary biography. Detroit: Gale Research, c1988. PQ 671 .F67 1988 REF
---. French novelists, 1930-1960. Dictionary of literary biography. Detroit: Gale Research, c1988. PQ 671 .F68 1988 REF
---. French novelists since 1960. Dictionary of literary biography. Detroit: Gale Research, c1989. PQ 671 .F69 1989 REF
---. Nineteenth-century French fiction writers : naturalism and beyond, 1860-1900. Dictionary of literary biography. Detroit: Gale Research, c1992. PQ 661 .N56 1992 REF
---. Nineteenth century French fiction writers : romanticism and realism, 1800-1860. Dictionary of literary biography. Detroit: Gale Research, c1992. PQ 655 .N56 1992 REF
Compère, Daniel, ed. Dictionnaire du roman populaire francophone. Paris : Nouveau monde, c2007. PQ 637 .P68 D53 2007 REF
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Poetry
Beum, Robert, ed. Nineteenth-century French poets. Dictionary of literary biography. Detroit: Gale Group, c2000. PQ 433 .N56 2000 REF
Coleman, Kathleen. Guide to French poetry explication. New York: G.K. Hall : Maxwell Macmillan International; Toronto: Maxwell Macmillan Canada, c1993. PQ 401 .C65 1993 REF
Jarrety, Michel, et al., eds. Dictionnaire de poésie de Baudelaire à nos jours. Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 2001. PQ 433 .D53 2001 REF
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Drama
Confortès, Claude. Répertoire du théâtre contemporain de langue française. Paris : Nathan, c2000. PQ 556 .C635 2000 REF
Cooper, Barbara T., ed. French dramatists, 1789-1914. Dictionary of literary biography. Detroit : Gale Research, 1998. PQ 501 .F733 1998 REF
Forman, Edward. Historical dictionary of French theater. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2010. PN 2637 .F67 2010
Gaines, James F, ed. The Molière Encyclopedia. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2002. PQ 1851 .M57 2002 REF
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Québec and Acadia
Gallant, Janine, and Maurice Raymond, eds. Dictionnaire des oeuvres littéraires de l'Acadie des Maritimes, XXe siècle. Sudbury: Prise de parole, 2012. PQ 3940 .D53 2012 REF
Grandpré, Pierre de. Histoire de la littérature française du Québec. 4 vols. Montréal: Librairie Beauchemin, 1967-1969. PQ 3917 .Q3 G7 1967 REF
Lamonde, Yvan. Je me souviens : la littérature personnelle au Québec (1860-1980). Québec: Institut québécois de recherche sur la culture, 1983. PS 8081 L3 1983 REF
Lemire, Maurice, et al., eds. Dictionnaire des oeuvres littéraires du Québec. 6 vols. Montréal: Fides, 1978 - . PQ 3901 .D5 REF
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North America
Benson, Eugene, and William Toye, eds. The Oxford companion to Canadian literature. 2nd ed. Toronto: Oxford UP, 1997. PS 8015 .O93 1997 REF
Hamel, Réginald, John Hare, and Paul Wyczynski. Dictionnaire des auteurs de langue française en Amérique du Nord. Montréal: Fides, 1989. PQ 3904 H25 1989.
Lang, Robert, et al., eds. Contemporary Canadian authors : a bio-bibliographical guide to current Canadian writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields. Toronto: Gale Canada, c1996 - . PS 8081 .C66 1996 REF
New, W.H., ed. Canadian writers before 1890. Dictionary of literary biography. Detroit: Gale Research, c1990. PS 8081 C5 1990 REF
---. Canadian writers, 1890-1920. Dictionary of literary biography. Detroit: Gale Research, c1990. PS 8071.2 C37 1990 REF
---. Canadian writers, 1920-1959. Dictionary of literary biography. Detroit: Gale Research, c1988, c1989. First Series: PS 8081 C54 1988 REF ; Second Series: PS 8081 C55 1989 REF
---. Canadian writers since 1960. Dictionary of literary biography. Detroit: Gale Research, c1986, c1987. First Series: PS 8081 C58 1986 REF ; Second Series: PS 8081 C59 1987 REF
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Women and Literature
Makward, Christiane P., et al. Dictionnaire littéraire des femmes de langue française : de Marie de France à Marie NDiaye. Paris: Karthala, c1996. PQ 149 .M35 1996 REF
Sartori, Eva Martin, et al., eds. The feminist encyclopedia of French literature. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999. PQ 149 .F47 1999 REF
Sartori, Eva Martin, and Dorothy Wynne Zimmerman, eds. French women writers : a bio-bibliographical source book. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991. PQ 149 .F73 1991 REF
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Science Fiction
Lofficier, Jean-Marc, and Randy Lofficier. French science fiction, fantasy, horror and pulp fiction : a guide to cinema, television, radio, animation, comic books and literature from the middle ages to the present. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, c2000. PQ 637 .F3 L64 2000
- See also : Science Fiction on the English Literature Web Sources page
Literary Terms
Bergez, Daniel, Violaine Géraud, and Jean-Jacques Robrieux. Vocabulaire de l'analyse littéraire. Paris: Dunod, 1996, c1994. PN 172 .B496 1996 REF
Delabastita, Dirk, et al., eds. Dictionnaire des termes littéraires. Paris: Champion, 2005. PQ 41 .D565 2005
Dictionnaire des genres et notions littéraires. Paris: Encyclopaedia Universalis : A. Michel, c1997. PN 44.5 .D53 1997 REF
Gallix, François. Dictionnaire raisonné bilingue de l'analyse littéraire. Paris: Ed. du Temps, c2000. PN 81 .G55 2000 REF
Hules, Virginia T., and Michael Grimaud. Le français littéraire fondamental : a glossary for students and teachers. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, c1981. PC 2680 H8 1981 REF
Quivy, Mireille. Glossaire bilingue des termes littéraires: francais-anglais. Paris: Ellipses, 2004. PN 44.5 .Q58 2004 REF
- See also: Literary Terms & Themes on the English Literature Reference Sources page.
Web Resources:
Literature
Selected French Internet Collections
E-Texts & Digital Collections
Electronic Journals, Magazines, & News Sources
in French
Dictionaries and Language Resources
Cultural Information
French-Language Libraries/ Library Resources
French-Language Publishers & Booksellers
Literature
Auteures acadiennes: Women's (Life) Writing in Acadia
Research tool covering Acadian women's literary, auto/biographical, and other writings. Created and maintained by Dr. Monika Boehringer, Modern Languages and Literatures, Mount Allison University.
Reading Women Writers and African Literature
"An overview of African women writers writing in French." Sponsored by The School of Humanities at The University of Western Australia.
See also: E-Texts & Digital Collections
Selected French Internet Collections
Tennessee Bob's Famous French Links
An excellent collection of over 10,000 links.
Voice of the Shuttle
A gateway site providing access to web pages for Humanities Research (including French Literature).
E-Texts and Digital Collections
ABU: La Bibliothèque Universelle (l'association des bibliophiles universelles)
A keyword searchable collection of French texts from many time periods
The ARTFL Project
The Project for American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language (ARTFL) is a cooperative enterprise of the Laboratoire ATILF (Analyse et Traitement Informatique de la Langue Française) of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the Division of the Humanities, and Electronic Text Services (ETS) of the University of Chicago.
ARTFL includes:
- FRANTEXT, the main ARTFL Database, comprising more than 3,500 French language texts spanning from the 12th through the 20th centuries
- French Women Writers, a collection of works from the 16th to 19th centuries
- Provencal Poetry, texts from the 12th and 13th centuries
- Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie
- Several other collections
Access ARTFL from: On-Campus | Off-Campus
Note: ARTFL includes both subscription and public access databases. All public access databases may be accessed (on and off campus) from the ARTFL Public Databases page.
ATHENA Textes Français
A very large collection of links to texts organized by author
Electronic Text Center French Language Resources (University of Virginia)
A very well organized and high quality text archive with links to other collections
Gallica
Digital holdings from La Bibliothèque nationale de France. Access over 70,000 works and 80,000 images and many hours of audio files, including historical, literary, scientific, legal, political and other works.
Poésie française(Webnet)
A searchable collection of over 2000 French poems (some with audio) from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. Searchable by author, title, country, time period and verse.
Electronic Journals, Magazines, & News Sources in French
French Language Online Newspapers and Magazines (MIT Foreign Languages Lab)
Les médias québécois sur Internet
Non-exhaustive list produced by le Consulat général de France à Québec.
Presse francophone électronique
See also: Indexes & Databases -- French, and for newsapers: Lexis/Nexis Academic, and Eureka.cc (for Acadie Nouvelle) under Indexes & Databases -- News.
Dictionaries and Language Resources
Dictionaries & Glossaries
ARTFL Project
A large digitization project by the U. of Chicago that includes searchable French dictionaries from the 16th, 17th, 18th, & 19th centuries (can be searched together or separately): Dictionnaires d'autrefois and the FRANTEXTdatabase of over 3000 keyword-searchable works of French literature and non-fiction from 12th to the 20th century, an excellent corpus for language usage over time. Searches can be limited by time period, genre, author and title. (See also other ARTFL literature collections and others listed under "Electronic Texts in French" above.)
Note: ARTFL includes both subscription and public access databases.
All public access databases may be accessed (from on and off campus) from the ARTFL Public Databases page.
Access subscription databases from: On-Campus | Off-Campus
La base de terminologie CILF
Conseil international de la langue française, France. Provides translations and some definitions for mostly technical terms in French, English, Spanish and German in a variety of subject areas. (Also has an excellent grammar/language learning section: "Orthonet".)
Grand Robert & Collins French-English, English-French Dictionary.
Electronic version available on campus workstations: Click Start, then "All Programs". Note: Please log out when done as the number of simultaneous users allowed is limited.
FranceTerme (formerly La base de données CRITER)
Commission générale de terminologie et de néologie, France. The Commission's database of new French terms and definitions recommended for use by the administration and government services in France.
Gallica -- Dictionnaires & encyclopédies
Historical dictionaires, general and specialized. See also Gallica home page for many other digitized collections from the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Glossaries by the Government of Canada Translation Bureau
Selected glossaries in specialized fields are available online; older print editions are available in the R.P. Bell Library, in Gov. Docs (CA1 SS5.50...)
Le Grand dictionnaire terminologique (GDT)
By the Office québécois de la langue française. This is the Quebec government's terminology data bank in English and French. (Also has an excellent grammar/language learning tool: "La banque de dépannage linguistique".)
IATE (InterActive Terminology for Europe)
European Union terminology database of the terms and phrases used by EU institutions, in the 23 official EU languages.
Oxford Language Dictionaries Online (OLDO)
Oxford Language Dictionaries Online provides access to Oxford's bilingual French-English, English-French dictionary, among others, and additional study materials.
(Off-campus)
Le Petit Robert / Le Nouveau Petit Robert.
An abbreviated version of the Grand Robert, but more frequently updated.
-
2013 version available online: on campus access | off campus access
-
2008 online version available on campus workstations: Click Start, then “All Programs.” Note: Please log out when done as the number of simultaneous users allowed is limited.
TERMIUM and TERMIUM Plus: The Electronic Trilingual Terminology and Linguistic Databank of the Government of Canada Translation Bureau.
Coverage: French, English and Spanish terms, with some definitions, standardized translations and documentation.
- TERMIUM Plus http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/ | Mt.A Libraries TermiumPlus Guide (.pdf)
- TERMIUM on CD (2001): Available in the R.P. Bell Library. Ask at Circ desk (CA1 SS5 T20); can be loaded on CD Workstation furthest from the Reference Desk.
YourDictionary.com -- French Dictionaries
Links to several general and specialized French dictionaries.
Grammar & Usage Guides
La banque de dépannage linguistique
By the Office québécois de la langue française. Provides responses to the most frequently asked questions on French grammar, spelling, punctuation, abbreviations and vocabulary in general.
Language Portal of Canada / Le Portail linguistique du Canada
Government of Canada Translation Bureau web site containing French and English "writing tools" (writing guides, grammar and usage guides, word games and exercises, articles on usage, etc.) Note: Click on the French version for French writing guides.
Orthonet
By Conseil international de la langue française in Paris (CILF). Provides correct and new spellings, grammar explanations, games and tests.
YourDictionary.com Grammars
Select links to French grammars
Cultural Information
Culture francophone
Le site des arts et de la culture des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada.
Culture.fr (Ministère de la culture et de la communication, gouvernement de France)
Provides links to information on all aspects of French culture, past and present.
France Diplomatie (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France)
Provides current information on France. Note the French and English versions differ.
Francophonies canadiennes: identités culturelles (by U. de Moncton, York U., & TFO)
A multimedia site on the culture of francophone communities in Canada with biographical profiles, interviews, chronologies, maps, video clips, sound files, excerpts from historical and other texts, and links to more information.
HAPAX: French Resources on the Web (by French Professor Angelo Metzidakis, Sweet Briar College, Virginia)
Links to French resources are organized by subject e.g. cinema, music, gastronomy, etc.
French-Language Libraries/ Library Resources
Les Archives littéraires : un guide des fonds littéraires à Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
A guide to the Library and Archives Canada archival fonds from Canadian writers, as well as individuals and organizations active in fields related to literature.
Bibliothèque nationale de la France
France's National Library. See Connaître la BnF for details about the Library.
Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec
Collects and conserves and provides access to the province's documentary heritage.
Catalogue Collectif de France
Using "Localisation de Documents" allows a search of almost 4,000 libraries in France; libraries can also be searched separately under "Repertoire des Bibliotheques".
The European Library
Provides cross-searching of 48 national libraries and 24 leading research libraries from 46 European countries.
LidDex: France
Directory of library home pages, catalogues, and other collections of books.
French-Language Publishers & Booksellers
AcqWeb's Directory of Publishers and Vendors
Searchable by country, subject, or publisher name
Alapage
Online catalogue of French books available for sale
Chapitre.com
Over 8 million new and used books in French, some with reviews
Librairies Francophones@Globe-Gate
A large collection of links to book sellers for French-language books, old and new
Renaud Bray
One of the largest francophone booksellers in North America; also has videos