Author guide

Jean-Paul Sartre Books in Order

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) was a French philosopher, novelist, playwright, literary critic, political writer, and public intellectual. His work joined phenomenology, existentialism, Marxism, ethics, and literary theory. He wrote influential philosophical studies including Being and Nothingness and Critique of Dialectical Reason, major novels such as Nausea and The Roads to Freedom, plays including No Exit and The Flies, and extensive political and literary criticism. He was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature, which he declined.

existentialismphenomenologyphilosophynovelsshort storiesplaysliterary criticismessayspolitical writingmemoir

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Start with one of these

La Nausée

A concise, influential novel that introduces Sartre's existential themes through fiction.

L'Existentialisme est un humanisme

A short, accessible presentation of Sartre's existentialism and its ethical implications.

Les Mots

A literary memoir that offers an accessible entry into Sartre's style, childhood, and theory of writing.

L'Être et le Néant : essai d'ontologie phénoménologique

The foundational statement of Sartre's phenomenological existentialism for readers seeking his central philosophy.

Read in order

Books by series

novel series · incomplete

Les Chemins de la liberté

Sartre's planned novel cycle about individual and political life in France before and during the Second World War. Three novels were published; the projected fourth volume remained unfinished.

Series guide →

1

L'Âge de raison
Book 1 · novel · 1945

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2

Le Sursis
Book 2 · novel · 1945

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3

La Mort dans l'âme
Book 3 · novel · 1949

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essay series · complete

Situations

A ten-volume series collecting Sartre's literary criticism, philosophical essays, political writing, cultural criticism, interviews, and other interventions.

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1

Situations I : Critiques littéraires
Book 1 · essay_collection · 1947

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2

Situations II : Qu'est-ce que la littérature ?
Book 2 · essay_collection · 1948

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3

Situations III : Lendemains de guerre
Book 3 · essay_collection · 1949

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4

Situations IV : Portraits
Book 4 · essay_collection · 1964

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5

Situations V : Colonialisme et néo-colonialisme
Book 5 · essay_collection · 1964

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6

Situations VI : Problèmes du marxisme I
Book 6 · essay_collection · 1964

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7

Situations VII : Problèmes du marxisme II
Book 7 · essay_collection · 1965

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8

Situations VIII : Autour de 68
Book 8 · essay_collection · 1972

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9

Situations IX : Mélanges
Book 9 · essay_collection · 1972

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10

Situations X : Politique et autobiographie
Book 10 · essay_collection · 1976

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philosophical series · incomplete

Critique de la raison dialectique

Sartre's projected philosophical work on history, dialectics, and collective action. The second volume was published posthumously in unfinished form.

Series guide →

1

Critique de la raison dialectique, tome I : Théorie des ensembles pratiques
Book 1 · philosophy · 1960

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2

Critique de la raison dialectique, tome II : L'Intelligibilité de l'histoire
Book 2 · philosophy · 1985 Optional

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Outside the series

Bibliography by category

Sort works

Novels (9)

La Nausée
novel · 1938

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Réflexions sur la question juive
political_nonfiction · 1946

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Entretiens sur la politique
political_nonfiction · 1949

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L'Affaire Henri Martin
political_nonfiction · 1952

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Marxisme et existentialisme : controverse sur la dialectique
political_nonfiction · 1962

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Les Communistes ont peur de la révolution
political_nonfiction · 1969

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Plaidoyer pour les intellectuels
political_nonfiction · 1972

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On a raison de se révolter
political_nonfiction · 1973

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La Reine Albemarle ou le Dernier Touriste
unfinished_novel · 1991

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Nonfiction (17)

La Transcendance de l'ego
philosophy · 1936

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L'Imagination
philosophy · 1936

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Esquisse d'une théorie des émotions
philosophy · 1939

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L'Imaginaire : psychologie phénoménologique de l'imagination
philosophy · 1940

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L'Être et le Néant : essai d'ontologie phénoménologique
philosophy · 1943

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L'Existentialisme est un humanisme
philosophy · 1946

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Explication de L'Étranger
literary_criticism · 1946

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Baudelaire
literary_biography · 1947

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Qu'est-ce que la littérature ?
literary_criticism · 1947

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Saint Genet, comédien et martyr
literary_biography · 1952

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Questions de méthode
philosophy · 1957

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Les Mots
memoir · 1964

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L'Idiot de la famille : Gustave Flaubert de 1821 à 1857
literary_biography · 1971

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Cahiers pour une morale
philosophy · 1983

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Carnets de la drôle de guerre : septembre 1939-mars 1940
memoir · 1983

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Mallarmé : la lucidité et sa face d'ombre
literary_criticism · 1986

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Vérité et existence
philosophy · 1989

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