Actuelles IV
posthumous political essay collection · First published 2024
Author guide
Albert Camus Books in Order
Albert Camus (1913–1960) was a French-Algerian writer, journalist, playwright, and essayist. His fiction, philosophical essays, political journalism, and drama explore absurdity, freedom, moral responsibility, solidarity, and revolt. His major works include L'Étranger, La Peste, Le Mythe de Sisyphe, L'Homme révolté, La Chute, and L'Exil et le royaume. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957.
novelsnovellasphilosophical essayspolitical essaysplaysshort storiesmemoirjournalism
Catalog record updated .
Albert Camus's Newest Book
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
L'Étranger
Camus's canonical first major novel and the clearest entry into his treatment of absurdity.
La Peste
An accessible major novel introducing his themes of solidarity, moral responsibility, and revolt.
Read in order
Books by series
thematic-cycle · complete
Cycle of the Absurd
Camus's central treatment of absurdity through fiction, philosophy, and drama.
- 1 L'Étranger
Book 1 · novel · 1942
- 2 Le Mythe de Sisyphe
Book 2 · philosophical essay · 1942
- 3 Caligula
Book 3 · play · 1944
M Caligula is a play written by Albert Camus, begun in 1938 and published for the first time in May 1944 by Éditions Gallimard. The play was later the subject of numerous revisions. It was part of what the author called the "Cycle of the…
thematic-cycle · complete
Cycle of Revolt
Camus's linked treatment of collective resistance, historical violence, and moral limits.
- 1 La Peste
Book 1 · novel · 1947
Sin duda mucho peso tuvo esta novela en la decisión de conceder a su autor el premio Nobel de Literatura de 1957: cumbre de la narrativa de este siglo, amarga y penetrante alegoría de un mundo al que sólo una catástrofe logra rehumanizar.…
- 2 L'Homme révolté
Book 2 · philosophical and political essay · 1951
- 3 Les Justes
Book 3 · play · 1949
Une piece theatrale que j'ai tellement adoree qui raconte l'histoire d'un groupe du parti socialiste revolutionnaire russe qui essai de liberer la population russe de la tyrannie exercee sur elle par un systeme de terreur, cette piece est…
publication-series · complete
Actuelles
Camus's continuing series of political, cultural, and historical essays and chronicles.
- 1 Actuelles I: Chroniques 1944-1948
Book 1 · political essay collection · 1950
- 2 Actuelles II: Chroniques 1948-1953
Book 2 · political essay collection · 1953
- 3 Actuelles III: Chronique algérienne 1939-1958
Book 3 · political essay collection · 1958
"More than fifty years after Algerian independence, Albert Camus's Algerian Chronicles appears here in English for the first time. Published in France in 1958, the same year the Algerian War brought about the collapse of the Fourth French…
- 4 Actuelles IV
Book 4 · posthumous political essay collection · 2024
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (3)
- La Chute
novella · 1956
- La Mort heureuse
novel · 1971
- Le Premier Homme
incomplete autobiographical novel · 1994
Nonfiction (4)
- Journaux de voyage
travel journals · 1978
"C'est les jambes flageolantes que je reçois le premier coup de New York. Au premier regard, hideuse ville inhumaine. Mais je sais qu'on change d'avis. Ce sont des détails qui me frappent : que les ramasseurs d'ordures portent des gants,…
- Fragments d'un combat: 1938-1940
journalism collection · 1978
- Albert Camus éditorialiste à L'Express: mai 1955-février 1956
journalism collection · 1987
- Camus à Combat: Éditoriaux et articles 1944-1947
journalism collection · 2002
Short fiction (1)
- L'Exil et le royaume
short-story collection · 1957
Essays and speeches (7)
- L'Envers et l'endroit
essay collection · 1937
Premier livre d'Albert Camus. A la fin de sa vie, Camus y verra la source secrète qui a alimenté tout ce qu'il a écrit.
- Noces
essay collection · 1939
- Lettres à un ami allemand
essay and letters collection · 1945
- L'Impromptu des philosophes
satirical pamphlet · 1947
- L'Été
lyrical essay collection · 1954
- Réflexions sur la guillotine
essay · 1957
Dans Folioplus philosophie, le texte philosophique, associé à une œuvre d'art qui l'éclaire et le questionne, est suivi d'un dossier organisé en six points : les mots du texte : Monstre, châtiment, crime ; l'œuvre dans l'histoire des…
- Discours de Suède
speeches and essays · 1958
On aura peut-être été un peu surpris de voir dans ces discours l'accent porté par Camus sur la défense de l'art et la liberté de l'artiste en même temps que sur la solidarité qui s'impose à lui. Cela faisait certes partie de ce qui lui…
Plays (8)
- L'État de siège
play · 1948
- Les Esprits
adapted play · 1953
- La Dévotion à la croix
adapted play · 1953
- Un Cas intéressant
adapted play · 1955
- Requiem pour une nonne
adapted play · 1956
- Le Chevalier d'Olmedo
adapted play · 1957
Collaborations (2)
- Révolte dans les Asturies
co-authored play · 1936
- La Postérité du soleil
co-authored prose-and-photography book · 1965
Other (3)
- Carnets I: mai 1935-février 1942
notebooks · 1962
- Carnets II: janvier 1942-mars 1951
notebooks · 1964
- Carnets III: mars 1951-décembre 1959
notebooks · 1989
«Chaque matin quand je sors sur cette terrasse, encore un peu ivre de sommeil, le chant des oiseaux me surprend, vient me chercher au fond du sommeil, et vient toucher une place précise pour y libérer d'un coup une sorte de joie…
Frequently asked questions about Albert Camus
Who was Albert Camus?
Albert Camus (1913–1960) was a French-Algerian novelist, essayist, playwright, journalist, and editor whose work explored absurdity, moral responsibility, and revolt.
Sources: nobelprize.org (opens in a new tab)plato.stanford.edu (opens in a new tab)
Was Albert Camus French or Algerian?
He is commonly described as French-Algerian: born in Algeria, he moved to France at age 25 and became part of French literary life. His Algerian origins and experiences strongly shaped his thought and writing.
Sources: nobelprize.org (opens in a new tab)guides.loc.gov (opens in a new tab)
What did Albert Camus do besides write novels?
Camus worked as a journalist and editor, joined the French Resistance, edited the newspaper Combat after liberation, and was active in theater as a producer and playwright.
Sources: nobelprize.org (opens in a new tab)plato.stanford.edu (opens in a new tab)
What influenced Albert Camus’s ideas?
His upbringing in Algeria and engagement with philosophy shaped his thinking, as did dialogue and disagreement with thinkers such as Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Husserl, and Jean-Paul Sartre. Camus rejected the existentialist label, although his work is often discussed alongside existentialism.
Sources: plato.stanford.edu (opens in a new tab)nobelprize.org (opens in a new tab)
Why is Albert Camus still important?
Camus remains influential for making absurdity, rebellion, and solidarity central themes in modern literature and moral thought. His relationship to colonial Algeria also remains an important and contested subject of scholarship.
Sources: plato.stanford.edu (opens in a new tab)academic.oup.com (opens in a new tab)