A Short History of French Literature

The heritage of literature in the French language is rich, varied, extensive in time and space, and appealing both to its immediate public—readers of French—and also to a global audience reached today through translations and film adaptations.



In its breadth, depth, and sophistication of analysis, George Saintsbury’s A Short History of French Literature is an exceptional achievement, offering a wide-ranging, and detailed account of France’s major writers and movements.



GEORGE SAINTSBURY (1845–1933), was an English writer, literary historian, scholar, and critic. He was educated at King's College London, and at Oxford where he achieved a BA degree (1865), and a second in Literae Humaniores (1867). 


“Probably there is no better brief history of French literature in any language…”

- The Saturday Review