Red and Black: A Chronicle of 1830

Title: Red and Black: A Chronicle of 1830
Author: Stendhal
ISBN: 9781517911447
Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press
Published: 2022
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
Condition: New
New from the publisher

Fiction 1456305

Publisher Description:

A masterpiece of nineteenth-century literature in a fresh translation that fully captures the language, psychology, and social reach of Stendhal's original

Fueled with a combustible mix of ambition, naivete, and Napoleonic ideals, Julien Sorel sets his sights on the heights of French society. But for the son of a provincial carpenter in post-Napoleonic France, the prospects for advancement are vanishingly narrow, the chances for glory rarer yet. After securing a toehold as a tutor to a wealthy family, Julien proceeds through a series of misadventures, illicit affairs, and lucky reversals to breach the ranks of French aristocracy--only to be undone by treasonous schemes, cynical romantic calculations, and an unexpectedly genuine and ultimately disastrous passion.

Shocking at the time of its original publication, startling in its relevance today, Stendhal's masterpiece is a scorching social satire, a remarkably detailed portrait of a fraught moment in history and, as perhaps the first psychological novel, a brilliant precursor to modern literature at once comical and tragic, cerebral and passionate. This new translation faithfully reproduces the nimble wit, emotional depth, and social acuity of Stendhal's text. Distinguished translator Raymond N. MacKenzie includes an extensive introduction to Stendhal's world and time, as well as copious annotations that explain allusions and terms for the modern reader.