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3.5 

Dangerous Liaisons

By Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos digital book - Fable

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Publisher Description

Dangerous Liaisons (Les Liaisons dangereuses) is an early French novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes in 1782. At the time of its publication novels were a new literary form, and Laclos chose to present his story in an epistolary style, composing the novel solely of a series of letters written by the major characters to each other. It was first translated into English in 1812 and has since become universally regarded as one the most significant early French novels.

The story is framed around the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, two narcissistic French aristocrats and rivals who enjoy games of seduction and manipulation, and who most especially enjoy one-upping each other. The letters they send to each other portray an interconnected web of seduction, revenge, and malice, and are interspersed with the more innocent letters of their victims.

Dangerous Liaisons has often been seen as a depiction of the corruption and depravity of the French nobility shortly before the French Revolution, thereby making a negative statement about the Ancien Régime. But it’s also a depiction of the timeless problems surrounding sex and love, and a realistic portrayal of desires that are often beyond our control. As Laclos enjoyed the patronage of Louis Philippe II, the Duke of Orléans, and as other royalist and conservative figures like Queen Marie Antoinette enjoyed the book, it’s likely it wasn’t seen as a morality tale until after the French Revolution.

157 Reviews

3.5
Surprised Face with Open Mouth“Read this as an assignment for my lit class, but it was TEA. There is an entire essay I could write on Merteuil, and why I’ve ended this book as a Merteuil apologist. Perhaps I will write that one day…”
“This read is kind of out of left field for me, but I am going to see a stage adaption this summer so picked it up. IT WAS FUN! Cheeky, dramatic, gag-worthy, but a touch hard to follow at times. Loved the storytelling through letters!”

About Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos (18 October 1741 – 5 September 1803) was a French novelist, official, Freemason and army general, best known for writing the epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) (1782).

A unique case in French literature, he was for a long time considered to be as scandalous a writer as the Marquis de Sade or Restif de La Bretonne. He was a military officer with no illusions about human relations, and an amateur writer; however, his initial plan was to "write a work which departed from the ordinary, which made a noise, and which would remain on earth after his death"; from this point of view he mostly attained his goals with the fame of his masterwork Les Liaisons dangereuses.

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