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The Princesse de Cleves (Oxford World's Classics)

By: Madame De La Fayette Terence Cave
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
ISBN: 0192837265
ISBN-13: 9780192837264
Released: 17 Jun 1999
RRP: £8.99
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Customer Reviews

One of the first psychological novels in French literature - By: Roman Clodia, 25 Sep 2006
Mme de Lafayette wrote this during the reign of Louis XIV but the novel is set in the court of Henri II when his queen is Catherine de Medici, the young Mary Queen of Scots is his daughter-in-law & Diana de Poitiers was his mistress. As a courtier herself, Mme de Lafayette knew intimately the intriques & gossip that went on at court & she conveys that magnificently.

The young & very beautiful Madame de Cleves comes to court, is married rapidly to a man whom she admires & respects but cannot love, & fallls in love herself with the Duke de Nemours, who feels the same for her. But tied by her sense of morality & the stories she has been told by her mother & others about the insincerity of court love, she restrains her passions & turns away from love.

This is a vivid, & exquisately written novel that turns on the smalll emotions of love, duty & passion lived out in a public court where everyone is watching everyone else, & no-one's secrets remain hidden. I read it in the French original & so cannot comment on the translation but it's difficult to imagine anyone not loving this book.