Books in English by writers from Luxembourg are hard to find, so these three are wider picks: books by long-time residents, outsiders who know the place well, folk tales and history with a strong feel for Luxembourg.
Luxembourg's best-known literary work is Renert, Michel Rodange's 1872 verse satire, often called the national epic. It retells the Reynard the Fox fables in Luxembourgish, and Rodange is widely regarded as the national poet. Rodange is widely regarded as the country's national poet. Writing in Luxembourgish is relatively young as a literary tradition: the language became the national language by law only in 1984, alongside French and German as administrative languages.
Many authors write in French or German instead, and all three languages are taught in Luxembourg's schools. Very little of this writing has been translated into English, and Luxembourgish-language work least of all, so English-language readers meet only a small part of it. The country's position between France and Germany, and its occupation by Germany in both world wars, are recurring ground for twentieth-century writers.
By long-time residents and outsiders who know the place well, or folk tales, poetry and history with a strong feel for Luxembourg.
“Find a copy” goes to Bookshop.org. If you buy, we earn a small commission and independent bookshops get a share too.
Poems by one of Luxembourg's leading French-language poets, shaped by a postwar Luxembourg-born sensibility, though few poems are tied to the country itself.
Selected poems by Luxembourg's leading French-language poet, reflecting a Luxembourg writer's wartime-shaped sensibility rather than depicting the country's places or daily life directly.
A spy thriller following an American expat wife in LuxembCity, showing the city's expatriate community, banking world and quiet, cosseted daily life.
Albania Andorra Austria Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czechia Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kosovo Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican City