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Anatole France

8 free books by Anatole France. 7 you can read right here.

Born 1844 in Paris · Died 1924

writer, novelist, poet, journalist, autobiographer · France · associated with freethought

Notable works: Thaïs, The Gods Are Athirst, The Red Lily

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Facts from Wikidata (Q42443), retrieved 2026-09-26.

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Quotes from Anatole France’s books

Verified word for word in the text: each quote is copied exactly from the book’s text in this site’s reader (the Project Gutenberg e-text named under each book) and links to its passage; when this page was built, every quote was checked word for word against that text. How RedLectern is built.

The Red Lily — Complete

From Project Gutenberg e-text #3922 (public domain in the USA).

"The sadness of churches at night moves me; I feel in them the grandeur of nothingness."

— Spoken by a character · II. "ONE CAN SEE THAT YOU ARE YOUNG!"

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Whatever one may do, one is always alone in the world. That is what he wishes to say. He is right. You may always explain: you never are understood.

— Therese · V. A DINNER 'EN FAMILLE'

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Thais

From Project Gutenberg e-text #2078 (public domain in the USA).

Brother Paphnutius, I am but a miserable sinner, but I have found, in my long life, that the cenobite has no foe worse than sadness.

— Spoken by a character · Part The First: THE LOTUS

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There, in a livid light, the demons tormented the souls of the damned. The souls preserved the appearance of the bodies which had held them, and even wore some rags of clothing. These souls seemed peaceful in the midst of their torments.

Part The First: THE LOTUSRead in context →

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