Build your LGBTQI+ library dedicated to the Marais and Gay Paris!

Librairie LGBT Les Mots à la Bouche - Marais gay

Since 1980, the bookstore LES MOTS À LA BOUCHE has been the iconic Parisian reference and a staple for readers seeking specialized works on LGBTQI+ culture and literature. Established in 1983 at 6 Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie, in the heart of Paris’s emerging gay neighborhood, this legendary bookstore had to leave the Marais in 2019 due to skyrocketing rent. Its departure marked a clear signal of the excessive gentrification of the Marais. It also signified the end of an era when browsing its shelves, attending author signings, participating in activist debates, and enjoying its exhibitions felt like a pilgrimage for LGBTQI+ people from France and around the world. The sharp increase in rent nearly led to its demise, but fortunately, the bookstore was able to rise again, albeit outside the Marais.

Since 2019, the bookstore « Les Mots à la Bouche » has relocated to 37 Rue Saint-Ambroise in the 11th arrondissement (metro Saint-Ambroise). Its collection of works is exceptional, and it welcomes visitors every day from 10:30 am to 7:30 pm.

A few minutes’ walk away, at 52 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud (metro Parmentier), you’ll find the bookstore-café VIOLETTE & CO, another feminist, lesbian, and LGBTQIA+ institution that has been active since 2004. With over 6,000 references and a very rich events calendar, it’s a must-visit.

These specialized bookstores are waiting for your visit. However, if you don’t have the time or opportunity to go in person, here is my personal selection of books that explore the history and life of LGBTQI+ Paris and the Marais. You can purchase them online through my site. Enjoy your reading!

I recommend the books listed below. Delivered to your doorstep in just a few days, with just a few clicks!

Marcel Proust odom and Gomorrah

Sodom and Gomorrah

By Marcel Proust

  • Novel

  • 576 pages

  • In English

  • Penguin Classics

  • 2014

  • 12,48 €

My Father and I: The Marais and the Queerness of Community

The Marais and the Queerness

By David Caron 

  • Essay

  • 288 pages

  • In English

  • Cornell University Press
  • 2009

  • 29,02 €

Sodome et Gomorrhe - Proust

Sodome et Gomorrhe

By Marcel Proust

  • Novel

  • 992 pages

  • In French

  • Editions Le Livre de Poche

  • 2024

  • 9,90 €

Quartiers gay Colin Giraud

Gay neighborhoods

By  Colin Giraud

  • Essay

  • 336 pages

  • In French

  • Presses Universitaires de France

  • 2014

  • 29 €

Marais gay, marais juif, une histoire de la communauté

Gay Marais, Jewish Marais.

By David Caron 

  • Essay

  • 352 pages

  • In French

  • Editions EPEL

  • 2015

  • 29 €

Faveur du roi, les mignons d'Henri III

The King’s Favor, the Mignons

By Nicolas Leroux

  • Essay

  • 806 pages

  • In French

  • Classiques de Champs Vallon

  • 2024

  • 25 €

Livre le goût de Monsieur - Paris Marais gay

Homosexuals in the 17th

By Didier Godard

  • Essay

  • 256 pages

  • In French

  • Editions H&O

  • 2002

  • 104,02 €

Sodome à Paris - Marais gay

Sodoma in Paris

By Thierry Pastorello

  • Essay

  • 304 pages

  • In French

  • Creaphis Éditions

  • 2011

  • 20,30 €

Homosexualité et prostitution masculines à Paris

Gay Paris 1870-1918

By Régis Revenin

  • Essay

  • 228 pages

  • In French

  • Editions L’Harmattan

  • 2005

  • 24 €

Paris Gay 1925

Gay Paris 1925

By Gilles Bardedette & Michel Carassou  

  • Essay

  • 242 pages

  • In French

  • Non Lieu Éditions

  • 2008

  • 35 €

my_marais_paris_gay_paris_1900_1940

Gay Paris 1900-1940

By François Buot

  • Essay

  • 268 pages

  • In French

  • Editions Fayard

  • 2013

  • 27 €

50 ans de lutte LGBTQ+ de Paris à New York

50 Years of LGBTQ+ Struggle

By Mason Funk

  • Essay

  • 304 pages

  • In French

  • Editions HarperCollins

  • 2021

  • 69 €

Livre archives LGBT

LGBT+ Archives

Under the direction of Antoine Idier

  • Essay

  • 288 pages

  • In French

  • Editions Textuel

  • 2024

  • 39 €

Paris Marais gay friendly

Gay friendly- Paris – New York

By Sylvie Tissot

  • Essay

  • 322 pages

  • In French
  • Editions Liber / Raison d’agir

  • 2018

  • 79,41 €

Vivre et survivre dans le Marais

Survive in the Marais

Under the direction of Jean-Pierre Azéma

  • Essay

  • 544 pages

  • In French

  • Editions Le Manuscrit

  • 2005

  • 25,90 €

Livre Nuits immorales de Paris

Immoral Nights of Paris

By Marc Lemonier

  • Art book

  • 142 pages

  • In French

  • Editions Parigramme

  • 2021

  • 19,90 €

Paris, les fragments d'éternité - BD gay

1899, Fragments of Eternity

By Séverine Mikan

  • Novel

  • 256 pages

  • In French

  • Editions Milo

  • 2023

  • 14 €

Marais chroniques gay

The Chronicles of the Marais

By Camille Reaux

  • Novel

  • 128 pages

  • In French

  • Editions Gaies et Lesbiennes

  • 2010

  • 5 €

Bienvenue dans le Marais

Welcome to the Marais

By Hughes Barthe

  • Comics

  • 96 pages

  • In French

  • Hachette Littératures

  • 2008

  • 36,39 €

Antisémitisme et homophobie

Antisemitism & Homophobia

By Chantal Meyer-Plantureux

  • Essay

  • 408 pages

  • In French

  • CNRS Editions

  • 2019

  • 25 €

The gay life of the Marais in Paris is something to read about… but even more to experience! Discover the itinerary I’ve prepared for you in the gay and lesbian Marais, and for your nights out, my selection of LGBTQI+ dance floors! If you’re more interested in general books about the history and heritage of the Marais, here’s my special selection! Enjoy exploring, reading and have fun!

Julien Dumarais, your ultimate guide for a perfect stay in the Marais