The Charterhouse of Parma opens as both a dazzling political novel and a defense of genius itself. Honoré de Balzac's celebrated introduction crowns Stendhal as a master of ideas, irony, and modern realism, arguing that true literature must unite thought, feeling, and form. The novel that follows proves the point in full: a sharp, elegant blend of court intrigue, family loyalty, and historical upheaval set in Italy after Napoleon's fall. At the center stands Gina Pietranera, later the Duch...

In 1818, when he was in his mid-thirties, Stendhal met and fell passionately in love with the beautiful Mathilde Dembowski. She, however, was quick to make it clear that she did not return his affections, and in his despair he turned to the written word to exorcise his love and explain his feelings. The result is an intensely personal dissection of the process of falling - and being - in love: a unique blend of poetry, anecdote, philosophy, psychology and social observation. Bringing toget...

Stendhal's The Charterhouse of Parma is a glittering, ironical masterpiece born from his own restless life in Napoleon's shadow and Italy's fevered political world. Inspired by real people and events, it plunges into a society where honor, desire, reputation, and power are inseparable, and where the author's sharp eye exposes both passion and corruption with unsparing wit. Against the upheavals of post-Napoleonic Lombardy, the proud Marchese del Dongo and his sister, Countess Pietranera, s...

"The Red and the Black" (subtitled "A Chronicle of the 19th Century") is the epic novel from writer Stendahl that tells the story of a young, poor Frenchman growing up in the post-Napoleonic era as he strives to improve his social condition and make something of himself during this tumultuous and politically charged world.The title refers - among other things - to the struggle between the military (the red) and the clergy (the black) as our protagonist - Julien Sorel - struggles to...

The Red and the Black is a reflective novel about the rise of poor, intellectually gifted people to High Society. Set in 19th century France it portrays the era after the exile of Napoleon to St. Helena. The influential, sharp epigrams in striking prose, leave reader almost as intrigued by the authors talent as the surprising twists that occur in the arduous love life.

A new translation of Stendhal’s marvelous first novel, a sumptuous story about the tortured romance between an impoverished émigré and an upper-class young man with an agonizing secret.Twenty-year-old Octave de Malivert, ardent, impulsive, and idealistic, is so intent on preserving his purity of mind that he has sworn never to fall in love or marry. This vow is put severely to the test when he meets Armance de Zohiloff, a beautiful but impoverished Russian émigré. ...

Stendhal’s second great novel, "The Charterhouse of Parma", was first published in Paris in 1839 and had to wait more than fifty years before appearing in an English translation in 1895. Like "The Red and the Black", its vivid characterizations, intriguing plot, and ironical style immediately confirmed its status as one of the major achievements of the nineteenth century novel.Almost ten years separate the original publication of "The Charterhouse of Parma" from "The Red and the Bl...

"The Red and the Black" is a novel by Stendhal published in French in 1830 as "Le Rouge et le noir". It is generally considered the author’s major work and one of the greatest 19th-century novels."The Red and the Black" is a fictional depiction of French society in the 1820’s, two decades after the French Revolution and its ensuing Terror. The plot was based on Stendhal’s personal experiences, on legal documents, and on historical accounts. Specifically, the story was prom...

The Red And The Black by Stendhal.

Although Stendhal considered On Love his best creation, not many critics and readers will ever agree with him. Henry James called the book unreadable; others have called it bizarre; and some disconcerting and exasperating. Here’s a warning by means of a question: what is the 21st century reader to make of this book? In my estimation, with some patience one can find not only an abundance of wit, but also much hidden wisdom about the mysterium tremendum that is human love. If Stendhal’s On L...

The Red and the Black, Stendhal’s masterpiece, is the story of Julien Sorel, a young dreamer from the provinces, fueled by Napoleonic ideals, whose desire to make his fortune sets in motion events both mesmerizing and tragic. Sorel’s quest to find himself, and the doomed love he encounters along the way, are delineated with an unprecedented psychological depth and realism. At the same time, Stendhal weaves together the social life and fraught political intrigues of post–Napoleonic France, ...

A swashbuckling masterpiece set in 19th-century Italy. It is renowned as one of the greatest French novels of all times. Brimming with adventure romance and political intrigue. It chronicles the exploits of Fabrizio del Dongo and his encounter with several fascinating individuals. Stendhal explores the whole spectrum of European history minutely. Illuminating and enthralling!