Raymond Queneau, ed., Pour une Bibliotheque Ideal [1956]
103 entries: 73 monographical, 30 otherwise
Ranked
This book 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
late Sixteenth-early Seventeenth centuriesEnglish
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- The Bible
Hebrew; Aramaic; Greek
- Marcel Proust
À la Recherche du Temps Perdu
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
- Michel de Montaigne
Les Essais
Essays
originally published in three volumes: 1580, 1588, and 1595French
- François Rabelais
La Vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel
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, 1564French
- Charles Baudelaire
Les Fleurs du Mal
The Flowers of Evil
1857French
- Blaise Pascal
Pensées
Thoughts
1669French
Plays
Seventeenth CenturyFrench
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Les Confessions
1782French
- Stendhal
Le Rouge et le Noir, Chronique du XIXe Siècle
The Red and the Black
1830French
Dialogues
early Fourth Century B CGreek
- Stendhal
Le Chartreuse de Parme
The Charterhouse of Parma
1839French
- François Villon
Le Grand Testament Villon et le Petit. Son Codicille. Le Jargon et Ses Ballades
1489French
Arthur Rimbaud
late Nineteenth CenturyFrench
- Les Illuminations
published in part serially May-Jun. 1886 in La Vogue; in its entirety later the same yearFrench
- Jean François Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz
Mémoires du Cardinal de Retz
1717French
- Leo Tolstoy
Voyna i Mir"
War and Peace
originally entitled 1805, published in part, 1865 and 1867; retitled and published in its entirety, 1869Russian
- Louis de Rouvroy, Duc de Saint-Simon
Memoires
written 1739-49; published in part, 1788; in its entirety, 1858French
- Miguel de Cervantes
El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha
Don Quixote
originally published in two volumes, 1605 and 1615Spanish
Plays
Seventeenth CenturyFrench
Plays
Fifth Century B CGreek
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
Brat'â Karamazovy
The Brothers Karamazov
originally published serially 1880 in Rússkij VéstnikRussian
Poems
late Nineteenth CenturyFrench
- Jean de la Fontaine
Fables
originally published in 12 volumes: first-sixth, 1668; seventh-eleventh, 1678; twelfth, 1694French
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Faust
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
- Guillaume Apollinaire
Alcools
1913French
- Gustave Flaubert
L'Éducation Sentimentale
1869French
- Homer
Odýsseia
The Odyssey
ca. Ninth-Eighth centuries B CGreek
Plays
Seventeenth CenturyFrench
- Dante
La Divina Commedia
The Divine Comedy
originally entitled La Commedia; written ca. 1308-21Italian
- François-René de Chateaubriand
Memoires d'Outre Tombe
published in two volumes, 1849 and 1850French
La Comédie Humaine
collective name for 91 finished and 46 unfinished works; Nineteenth CenturyFrench
Plays
Fifth Century B CGreek
- James Joyce
Ulysses
published in part serially Mar. 1918-Dec. 1920 in the Little Review; in its entirety, 1922English
- Choderlos de Laclos
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
The Dangerous Liaisons
1782French
- 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
Gulliver's Travels
1726; revised 1735English
Poems
late Nineteenth CenturyFrench
- Gustave Flaubert
Madame Bovary
originally published serially Oct. 1856-Dec. 1856 in La Revue de ParisFrench
- Arthur Rimbaud
Une Saison en Enfer
A Season in Hell
1873French
- René Descartes
Discours de la Méthode Pour Bien Conduire sa Raison, et Chercher la Vérité dans les Sciences
Discourse on the Method
1637French
- Abbé Prévost
L'Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut
seventh volume of Homme de Qualité, 1731; published separately the same yearFrench
- Pierre de Ronsard
Les Odes
originally published in five volumes: first-fourth, 1550; fifth, 1552French
Plays
late Fifth Century B CGreek
Cornelius Tacitus
- Historiae
written ca. 100-10Latin
- Annales
written First CenturyLatin
- Baruch Spinoza
Ethica, Ordine Geometrico Demonstrata
Ethics
1677Latin
Poems
late Eighteenth-early Nineteenth centuriesGerman
Gérard de Nerval
1854; stories, essays, and other works previously publishedFrench
twelve poems originally published in periodicals and earlier books by the author; included in Les Filles du Feu, 1854French
- Daniel Defoe
The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner
originally anonymously published 1719English
- Augustine of Hippo
Confessionum Libri Tredecim
The Confessions of St. Augustine
written 397-98Latin
- Comte de Lautreamont
Les Chants de Maldoror
The Songs of Maldoror
1869French
- Victor Hugo
Les Misérables
1862French
- Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
1865English
Comédies et Proverbes
title used for varying collections of Musset's plays; Nineteenth CenturyFrench
- Jules Renard
Journal de Jules Renard
1925French
Homer
- Iliad
ca. Ninth-Eighth centuries B CGreek
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
Idiot
originally published serially 1868-9 in Rússkij VéstnikRussian
- Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights
originally published 1847 under the pseudonym, Ellis Bell; revised 1850English
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
Besy
Demons; The Devils; The Possessed
1872Russian
Stories
Eighteenth CenturyFrench
Poems
late Eighteenth-early Nineteenth centuriesEnglish
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
Prestuplénie i Nakazániye
Crime and Punishment
originally published serially Jan.-Dec. 1866 in Rússkij VéstnikRussian
- Plutarch
Bìoi Paràllēloi
Parallel Lives; Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans
First CenturyGreek
- Madame de la Fayette
La Princess de Clèves
originallly anonymously published 1678French
- Karl Marx
Das Kapital, Kritik der Politischen Ökonomie
published in three volumes: 1867, 1885, and 1894German
- Benjamin Constant
Adolphe, Anecdote Trouvée dans les Papiers d'un Inconnu
originally anonymously published 1816French
Plays
Eighteenth CenturyFrench
- Agrippa d'Aubigné
Les Tragiques
1616French
- Alfred de Vigny
Les Destinées
1864French
Poems
early Twentieth CenturySpanish
- André Malraux
La Condition Humaine
Man's Fate
1933French
- Francois de la Rochefoucauld
Réflexions ou Sentences et Maximes Morales
originally anonymously published 1665French
- Jean de la Bruyère
Les Caractères
1688French
- Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de Sévigné (Madame de Sévigné)
Correspondence
Seventeenth CenturyFrench
- Emile Littré
Le Dictionnaire de la Langue Française
1863-72French
- Alfred Jarry
Ubu Roi
1896French
Poems
early Twentieth CenturyFrench
- Blaise Pascal
Lettres Provinciales
1656-57French
- T E Lawrence
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
1922English
Stories
Nineteenth CenturyFrench
Variétes
four volumes of essays previously publishedFrench
Selected works
ca. late Sixth-early Fifth centuries B C; only fragments of his work are extantGreek
Plays
Eighteenth CenturyFrench
- Victor Hugo
La Légende des Siècles
originally published in three volumes: 1859, 1877, and 1883French
- Franz Kafka
Der Prozess
The Trial
1925German
Correspondence
Eighteenth CenturyFrench
- Guillaume Apollinaire
Calligrammes: Poèmes de la Paix et de la Guerre 1913-1916
1918French
- André Gide
Journal
originally published in two volumes, 1939 and 1950French
Fables
Nineteenth CenturyDanish
- Alexandre Dumas
Les Trois Mousquetaires
The Three Musketeers
originally published serially Mar.-Jul. 1844 in Le SiècleFrench
- Giacomo Casanova
Histoire de Ma Vie Jusqu'à l'An 1797 (The Story of My Life)
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
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- Kitab alf Laylah Wa-Laylah
The Thousand and One Nights; The Arabian Nights
Ninth-Fifteenth centuriesArabic
- Joseph Conrad
Lord Jim
originally published serially Oct. 1899-Nov. 1900 in Blackwood's MagazineEnglish
"Poems and philosophical fragments"
late Eighteenth CenturyGerman
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Also Sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen
Thus Spake Zarathustra
originally published in four volumes, 1883-5German
Plays
early Twentieth CenturyFrench
- Tristan Corbière
Les Amours Jaunes
1873French
- Victor Hugo
Les Contemplations
1856French
French
- San Juan de la Cruz (Saint John of the Cross)
La Noche Oscura del Alma
Dark Night of the Soul
written 1578-79 and 1584-85Spanish
- Nikolai Gogol
Mërtvyâ Duši
Dead Souls
1842Russian
- Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro)
Aeneid
First Century B CLatin
- Georges Bernanos
Journal d'un Curé de Campagne
Journal of a Country Priest
1936French