Reading for the Road:
Our Favourite Books About Normandy

Annik Boulva

France | Normandy

At The Slow Road we answer to many names (wanderers, bon vivants, students of life) but first and foremost, we’re a group of dedicated travellers.

That’s why we love compiling reading lists that include those books—from novels to memoirs, and everything in between—that have really opened up our favourite regions.

In this post we’ve rounded up some of our favourite books about Normandy.

Must-Read Books about Normandy

The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages

By Alain Erlande-Brandenburg

All over Europe, from Westminster to Rouen, the cathedrals of the Middle Ages still stand. This book explores the world of the medieval master mason. How were these structures built when only primitive machinery was available? Who initiated and designed them? Who built and paid for them?

Learn more on Amazon >>

The Secret Life of the Seine

By Mort Rosenblum

After losing his Paris apartment, Rosenblum, a born storyteller, takes to a houseboat moored on the Seine. The result is this entertaining tour of the places and people he encounters during his explorations along the river.

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See History Come Alive

B&R’s Normandy Biking trip is like turning the pages of a history book while riding along white sand beaches, past quaint thatched cottages and ancient churches. Explore a region as unique as it is historic.

DETAILED ITINERARY

D-Day June 6, 1944, The Climactic Battle of World War II

By Stephen Ambrose

Written by the best-selling historian Stephen Ambrose, this well researched book draws together interviews and government documents to tell the gripping tale of D-Day. This comprehensive account contains 32 pages of photos and eight maps.

Learn more on Amazon >>

Michelin Green Guide Normandy

By Michelin Travel Publications

A thorough introduction to Normandy and the Channel islands in the classic Michelin style, featuring brief descriptions of all the major attractions. Organized alphabetically, we like it for its broad coverage, and especially for its excellent local maps.

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A Time to Keep Silence

By Patrick Leigh Fermor

This entrancing chronicle of sojourns in the monasteries of Solesmes, Wandrille and La Grande Trappe in Normandy in the 1940s concludes with a visit to Cappadocia’s rock chapels, hewn of stone and long abandoned.

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Annik Boulva

Trip Designer Annik (pronounced “a knick”) Boulva caught the travel bug the old fashioned way, when skiing brought her to training camps in France, Argentina, Chile and beyond. Since then, she’s spent the better part of a decade guiding, researching and designing incredible adventures for B&R.