Raymond Queneau, ed., Pour une Bibliotheque Ideal [1956]
103 entries: 73 monographical, 30 otherwise
Ranked
This books is very difficult to find. Thankfully, one the best sites on the web, Bureau of Public Secrets, features a transcription of the 100 entries of that book's final list. In a project similar to J. Peder Zane's, Queneau asked several French authors and critics each to draw up a list of their favorite 100 books. Bibliotheque Ideal includes those responses as well as the overall list seen here.
- William Shakespeare
Plays_4
late Sixteenth-early Seventeenth centuriesEnglish
*Durant* *France* *Good* *Bloom*
--
- The Bible_17
Downs also lists John Wycliffe's 1382 English translation of the Vulgate; Bloom, Dirda, and the Globe and Mail specify the King James Version, translated 1604-11 to English from the Hebrew and Aramaic (Old Testament) and the Greek (New Testament), revised 1769 by Benjamin BlayneyHebrew; Aramaic; Greek
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Read* *Ward* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Dirda* *Guardian* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Taylor* *World*
- Marcel Proust
À la Recherche du Temps Perdu_17
In Search of Lost Time; In Remembrance of Things Past
originally published in seven volumes, two of which originally published as two books each, 1913-27French
*Classics* *France* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Magill* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Trinity* *Utne* *Norway* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Telegraph* *Newman*
- Michel de Montaigne
Les Essais_26
Essays
originally published in three volumes: 1580, 1588, and 1595French
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Durant* *Invitation* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Kanigel* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Norway* *Great* *GlobeMail* *World* *Newman* *Educated*
- François Rabelais
La Vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel_22
originally published in five volumes: Les Horribles et Épouvantables Faits et Prouesses du Très Renommé Pantagruel Roi des Dipsodes, Fils du Grand Géant Gargantua, 1532; La Vie Très Horrifique du Grand Gargantua, Père de Pantagruel, 1534; Le Tiers Livre des Faicts et Dicts Héroïques du Bon Pantagruel, 1546; Le Quart Livre des Faicts et Dicts Héroïques du Bon Pantagruel, 1552; Le Cinquiesme et Dernier Livre des Faicts et Dicts Héroïques du Bon Pantagruel, 1564; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Thomas Urquhart and Peter Motteux's English translationFrench
*Powys* *Durant* *Invitation* *Hundred* *France* *Rexroth* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Utne* *Norway* *Great* *Smart* *Newman*
- Charles Baudelaire
Les Fleurs du Mal_8
The Flowers of Evil
1857French
*France* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Trinity* *Great* *Newman*
- Blaise Pascal
Pensées_20
Thoughts
1669French
*Lubbock* *Eliot* *Invitation* *Classics* *France* *Zulli* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Great* *O'Hear* *Reynolds*
Plays_5
Seventeenth CenturyFrench
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Durant* *France* *Fadiman*
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Les Confessions_14
1782French
*Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *France* *Ward* *Magill* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Dirda* *Newman* *Educated*
- Stendhal
Le Rouge et le Noir, Chronique du XIXe Siècle_18
The Red and the Black
1830French
*Powys* *Classics* *France* *Rexroth* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Trinity* *Norway* *Great* *Zane* *Newman* *Deposit*
Dialogues_10
early Fourth Century B CGreek
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Durant* *Hundred* *France* *Read* *Magill* *Bloom* *Kanigel* *World*
- Stendhal
Le Chartreuse de Parme_12
The Charterhouse of Parma
1839French
*Classics* *France* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Trinity* *Zane* *Newman*
- François Villon
Le Grand Testament Villon et le Petit. Son Codicille. Le Jargon et Ses Ballades_6
1489French
*Classics* *France* *Ward* *Bloom* *Trinity* *Newman*
Arthur Rimbaud
late Nineteenth CenturyFrench
*France* *Rexroth* *Ward*
- Les Illuminations_5
published in part serially May-Jun. 1886 in La Vogue; in its entirety later the same yearFrench
*France* *Bloom* *Trinity* *Ward* *Newman*
- Jean François Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz
Mémoires du Cardinal de Retz_1
1717French
*France*
- Leo Tolstoy
Voyna i Mir"_25
War and Peace
originally entitled 1805, published in part, 1865 and 1867; retitled and published in its entirety, 1869Russian
*Durant* *Invitation* *Hundred* *France* *Rexroth* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Norway* *Guardian* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Taylor* *Telegraph* *World* *Newman*
- Louis de Rouvroy, Duc de Saint-Simon
Memoires_1
written 1739-49; published in part, 1788; in its entirety, 1858French
*France*
- Miguel de Cervantes
El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha_37
Don Quixote
originally published in two volumes, 1605 and 1615; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Edith Grossman's English translationSpanish
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Powys* *Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *Taylor* *Reynolds* *World* *Deposit* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*
Plays_2
Seventeenth CenturyFrench
*France* *Read*
Plays_3
Fifth Century B CGreek
*Baldwin* *France* *Read*
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
Brat'â Karamazovy_23
The Brothers Karamazov
originally published serially 1880 in Rússkij VéstnikRussian
*Powys* *Durant* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Rexroth* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Trinity* *Norway* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *Reynolds* *World* *Newman*
Poems_1
late Nineteenth CenturyFrench
*France*
- Jean de la Fontaine
Fables_7
originally published in 12 volumes: first-sixth, 1668; seventh-eleventh, 1678; twelfth, 1694French
*Invitation* *France* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Bloom* *Trinity* *Newman*
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Faust_27
originally published in two volumes: first, Faust. Der Tragödie Erster Teil, published in part, 1790; in its entirey, 1808; revised 1829; second, Faust. Der Tragödie Zweiter Teil, 1832German
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Powys* *Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *O'Hear* *GlobeMail* *World* *Newman*
- Guillaume Apollinaire
Alcools_2
1913French
*France* *Bloom*
- Gustave Flaubert
L'Éducation Sentimentale_8
1869French
*Classics* *France* *Rexroth* *Ward* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Norway* *Newman*
- Homer
Odýsseia_36
The Odyssey
ca. Ninth-Eighth centuries B.C; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Robert Fitzgerald's English translationGreek
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Eliot* *Powys* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *Telegraph* *Harvard* *Reynolds* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*
Plays_1
Seventeenth CenturyFrench
*France*
- Dante
La Divina Commedia_33
The Divine Comedy
originally entitled La Commedia; written ca. 1308-21Italian
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Eliot* *Powys* *Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *France* *Downs* *Zulli* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Norway* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Telegraph* *Harvard* *Reynolds* *World* *Newman* *Graphic*
- François-René de Chateaubriand
Memoires d'Outre Tombe_2
published in two volumes, 1849 and 1850French
*France* *Ward*
La Comédie Humaine_5
collective name for 91 finished and 46 unfinished works; Nineteenth CenturyFrench
*Powys* *France* *Rexroth* *Ward* *Trinity*
Plays_3
Fifth Century B CGreek
*Baldwin* *France* *Read*
- James Joyce
Ulysses_20
published in part serially Mar. 1918-Dec. 1920 in the Little Review; in its entirety, 1922English
*Classics* *France* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Norway* *Great* *Guardian* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *Taylor* *Telegraph* *Newman* *Graphic*
- Choderlos de Laclos
Les Liaisons Dangereuses_6
The Dangerous Liaisons
1782French
*France* *Rexroth* *Bloom* *Telegraph* *Newman* *Graphic*
- Jonathan Swift
Travels Into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and Then a Captain of Several Ships_29
Gulliver's Travels
1726; revised 1735English
*Lubbock* *Durant* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Good* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *Telegraph* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*
Poems_3
late Nineteenth CenturyFrench
*France* *Trinity* *Newman*
- Gustave Flaubert
Madame Bovary_29
originally published serially Oct. 1856-Dec. 1856 in La Revue de Paris; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Frances Steegmuller's English translationFrench
*Classics* *Durant* *Hundred* *France* *Zulli* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Magill* *Good* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Kanigel* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *Guardian* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *Taylor* *Telegraph* *Deposit* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*
- Arthur Rimbaud
Une Saison en Enfer_6
A Season in Hell
1873French
*France* *Ward* *Bloom* *Trinity* *Great* *Newman*
- René Descartes
Discours de la Méthode Pour Bien Conduire sa Raison, et Chercher la Vérité dans les Sciences_17
Discourse on the Method
1637French
*Lubbock* *Eliot* *Invitation* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Adler* *Good* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Great* *World*
- Abbé Prévost
L'Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut_3
seventh volume of Homme de Qualité, 1731; published separately the same yearFrench
*France* *Ward* *Bloom*
- Pierre de Ronsard
Les Odes_2
originally published in five volumes: first-fourth, 1550; fifth, 1552French
*France* *Bloom*
Plays_4
late Fifth Century B CGreek
*Baldwin* *France* *Good* *Read*
Cornelius Tacitus
- Historiae_8
written ca. 100-10Latin
*Invitation* *France* *Rexroth* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Adler* *Trinity*
- Annales_11
written First CenturyLatin
*Classics* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Adler* *Kanigel* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity*
- Baruch Spinoza
Ethica, Ordine Geometrico Demonstrata_15
Ethics
1677Latin
*Durant* *Invitation* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Dirda* *Deposit*
Poems_1
late Eighteenth-early Nineteenth centuriesGerman
*France*
Gérard de Nerval
1854; stories, essays, and other works previously publishedFrench
*France*
twelve poems originally published in periodicals and earlier books by the author; included in Les Filles du Feu, 1854French
*France* *Bloom*
- Daniel Defoe
The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner_21
originally anonymously published 1719English
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Dirda* *Great* *Zane* *Deposit* *Newman*
- Augustine of Hippo
Confessionum Libri Tredecim_23
The Confessions of St. Augustine
written 397-98Latin
*Lubbock* *Eliot* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Kanigel* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *O'Hear* *GlobeMail* *Telegraph* *Reynolds* *Newman* *Educated*
- Comte de Lautreamont
Les Chants de Maldoror_2
The Songs of Maldoror
1869French
*France* *Newman*
- Victor Hugo
Les Misérables_18
1862French
*Baldwin* *Durant* *Classics* *Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Magill* *Good* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Trinity* *Guardian* *Harvard* *World* *Newman* *Graphic* *Deposit*
- Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_17
1865English
*Powys* *Invitation* *France* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Kanigel* *Guardian* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Harvard* *Deposit* *Graphic*
Comédies et Proverbes_1
title used for varying collections of Musset's plays; Nineteenth CenturyFrench
*France*
- Jules Renard
Journal de Jules Renard_1
1925French
*France*
Homer
- Iliad_33
ca. Ninth-Eighth centuries B.C; Cowan and Guinness ("Trinity") specifiy Richard Lattimore's English translation; Mallison ("Smart") notes Derek Jacobi's modern aural versionGreek
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Classics* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *GlobeMail* *Smart* *Taylor* *Telegraph* *World* *Deposit* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
Idiot_11
originally published serially 1868-9 in Rússkij VéstnikRussian
*Powys* *Classics* *France* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Norway* *Deposit* *Newman*
- Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights_17
originally published 1847 under the pseudonym, Ellis Bell; revised 1850English
*Powys* *Hundred* *France* *Zulli* *Ward* *Magill* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Kanigel* *Norway* *Guardian* *Zane* *Deposit* *Newman* *Graphic*
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
Besy_9
Demons; The Devils; The Possessed
1872Russian
*Powys* *Classics* *France* *Magill* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Norway* *Zane* *Newman*
Stories_1
Eighteenth CenturyFrench
*France*
Poems_2
late Eighteenth-early Nineteenth centuriesEnglish
*France* *Magill*
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
Prestuplénie i Nakazániye_23
Crime and Punishment
originally published serially Jan.-Dec. 1866 in Rússkij Véstnik; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky's English translationRussian
*Eliot* *Powys* *Classics* *France* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *Guardian* *Zane* *Smart* *Harvard* *Newman* *Graphic* *Educated*
- Plutarch
Bìoi Paràllēloi_18
Parallel Lives; Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans
First CenturyGreek
*Lubbock* *Baldwin* *Durant* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Zulli* *Read* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Dirda* *Educated*
- Madame de la Fayette
La Princess de Clèves_4
originallly anonymously published 1678French
*France* *Bloom* *Dirda* *Newman*
- Karl Marx
Das Kapital, Kritik der Politischen Ökonomie_12
published in three volumes: 1867, 1885, and 1894German
*Hundred* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Read* *Ward* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *GlobeMail* *Telegraph* *World*
- Benjamin Constant
Adolphe, Anecdote Trouvée dans les Papiers d'un Inconnu_2
originally anonymously published 1816French
*France* *Bloom*
Plays_1
Eighteenth CenturyFrench
*France*
- Agrippa d'Aubigné
Les Tragiques_2
1616French
*France* *Bloom*
- Alfred de Vigny
Les Destinées_1
1864French
*France*
Poems_2
early Twentieth CenturySpanish
*France* *Ward*
- André Malraux
La Condition Humaine_5
Man's Fate
1933French
*France* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Dirda*
- Francois de la Rochefoucauld
Réflexions ou Sentences et Maximes Morales_4
originally anonymously published 1665French
*Durant* *France* *Ward* *Bloom*
- Jean de la Bruyère
Les Caractères_1
1688French
*France*
- Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de Sévigné (Madame de Sévigné)
Correspondence_2
Seventeenth CenturyFrench
*France* *Newman*
- Emile Littré
Le Dictionnaire de la Langue Française_1
1863-72French
*France*
- Alfred Jarry
Ubu Roi_1
1896French
*France*
Poems_1
early Twentieth CenturyFrench
*France*
- Blaise Pascal
Lettres Provinciales_6
1656-57French
*Classics* *France* *Read* *Ward* *Adler* *Trinity*
- T E Lawrence
Seven Pillars of Wisdom_3
1922English
*France* *Zane* *Telegraph*
Stories_2
Nineteenth CenturyFrench
*France* *Dirda*
Variétes_1
four volumes of essays previously publishedFrench
*France*
Selected works_3
ca. late Sixth-early Fifth centuries B C; only fragments of his work are extantGreek
*France* *Bloom* *Dirda*
Plays_1
Eighteenth CenturyFrench
*France*
- Victor Hugo
La Légende des Siècles_2
originally published in three volumes: 1859, 1877, and 1883French
*France* *Trinity*
- Franz Kafka
Der Prozess_16
The Trial
1925German
*France* *Read* *List* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Norway* *Great* *Zane* *Smart* *Newman* *Educated*
Correspondence_1
Eighteenth CenturyFrench
*France*
- Guillaume Apollinaire
Calligrammes: Poèmes de la Paix et de la Guerre 1913-1916_2
1918French
*France* *Bloom*
- André Gide
Journal_2
originally published in two volumes, 1939 and 1950French
*France* *Bloom*
Fables_5
Nineteenth CenturyDanish
*France* *Magill* *Norway* *Dirda* *Graphic*
- Alexandre Dumas
Les Trois Mousquetaires_3
The Three Musketeers
originally published serially Mar.-Jul. 1844 in Le SiècleFrench
*France* *Guardian* *Newman*
- Giacomo Casanova
Histoire de Ma Vie Jusqu'à l'An 1797 (The Story of My Life)_2
The Story of My Life
German translation published in part, 1822-4; abridged and censored version of the original French published 1826-38; original French published in its entirety, 1960-2French
*France* *Rexroth*
--
- Kitab alf Laylah Wa-Laylah_17
The Thousand and One Nights; The Arabian Nights
Ninth-Fifteenth centuries; Taylor specifies Richard Burton's versionArabic
*Lubock* *Baldwin* *Eliot* *France* *Downs* *Ward* *Oriental* *Magill* *Good* *Learning* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Norway* *Great* *Zane* *Taylor*
- Joseph Conrad
Lord Jim_6
originally published serially Oct. 1899-Nov. 1900 in Blackwood's MagazineEnglish
*Powys* *France* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Campbell* *Newman*
"Poems and philosophical fragments"
late Eighteenth CenturyGerman
*France*
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Also Sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen_15
Thus Spake Zarathustra
originally published in four volumes, 1883-5German
*Powys* *Durant* *Hundred* *France* *Read* *List* *Ward* *Magill* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Foundation* *SeymourSmith* *Great* *World* *Graphic*
Plays_1
early Twentieth CenturyFrench
*France*
- Tristan Corbière
Les Amours Jaunes_2
1873French
*France* *Bloom*
- Victor Hugo
Les Contemplations_1
1856French
French
*France*
- San Juan de la Cruz (Saint John of the Cross)
La Noche Oscura del Alma_2
Dark Night of the Soul
written 1578-79 and 1584-85Spanish
*France* *Ward*
- Nikolai Gogol
Mërtvyâ Duši_11
Dead Souls
1842Russian
*Classics* *France* *Magill* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *Norway* *Great* *Zane* *Harvard* *Newman*
- Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro)
Aeneid_26
First Century B C; Mallison ("Smart") specifies Dudley Fitts and Robert Fagles's English translationLatin
*Baldwin* *Eliot* *Classics* *France* *Downs* *Rexroth* *Ward* *Van Doren* *Magill* *Adler* *Good* *Bloom* *Recommended* *Fadiman* *SeymourSmith* *Trinity* *Campbell* *Norway* *Great* *O'Hear* *Zane* *Smart* *Reynolds* *World* *Newman* *Graphic*
- Georges Bernanos
Journal d'un Curé de Campagne_1
Journal of a Country Priest
1936French
*France*