Fiction
Bonjour Tristesse, Francoise Sagan, 1955 —
Seventeen-year-old Cecile pokes around in her widowed father’s affairs, with tragic results.
Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1933 —
Fitzgerald’s most ambitious novel about a glamorous couple coping with his frustrated career ambitions and her mental problems against the backdrop of Riviera in the 1920’s.
Epitaph for a Spy, Eric Ambler, 1952 —
A terrific spy novel about a man at the end of his Riviera vacation who drops his film off at the drugstore – and finds himself arrested and under suspicion when the photos that come back aren’t his.
Nonfiction
Break of Day, Colette, 1928 —
Written in the artists’ colony of Saint-Tropez when the author was in her fifties, the mature work followed the collapse of her second marriage and reflects her desire to re-establish her independence, and repudiate romantic love, while celebrating the natural beauty of her surroundings.
Edith Wharton on the French Riviera, Philippe Collas, 2002 —
A fascinating look at the Golden Age of the French Riviera between the wars during the time the American writer visited and found it both a writing paradise and socially shallow – with vintage photographs.
Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera, Michael Nelson, 2001 —
A well-researched account of Queen Victoria’s love affair with the French Riviera.
Artists and their Museums on the Riviera, Barbara F. Freed, 1998 —
See the region through the eyes of its most famous artists, like Paul Signac, Renoir, Matisse, Chagall, Picasso and Cocteau.
Films
And God Created Woman, Roger Vadim, 1956 — The famous French film made the world fall in love with Brigette Bardot—and with this fishing village, where the actress still resides today.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Frank Oz, 1988 — Conmen Steve Martin and Michael Caine fleece their way through the playground of the rich – until they get their comeuppance from Glenne Headly. It was later adapted for the Broadway stage.
On the Riviera, Walter Lang, 1951 — Danny Kaye plays a dual role as a French Industrialist and an American entertainer opposite Gene Tierney in this frothy musical comedy.
