by Stendhal
First published 1830
Julien Sorel refuses to accept his humble beginnings in provincial France. The ambitious young man discovers that advancement requires mastering society's unspoken rules of deception and self-serving calculation. He learns to manipulate others through carefully crafted hypocrisy, winning over the married Madame de Rênal and later the proud Mathilde as he ascends into the glittering world of Parisian society. Julien's calculated rise seems unstoppable until his own emotions betray his Machiavellian schemes. In a moment of devastating impulse, he commits a crime that destroys everything he has built. His carefully constructed facade crumbles, leading to his ultimate downfall. Stendhal creates a sharp-eyed portrait of post-Waterloo French society, exposing the corruption and moral emptiness that pervade every social level. Julien emerges as a fascinating contradiction: a cold manipulator undone by the very human feelings he tried to suppress.
Genres: fiction, romance, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: anti-hero, calculated-rise, downfall, unreliable-narrator
Setting: France, Paris
Period: Post-Waterloo
577 pages · Paperback · Penguin Classics