La princesse de Clèves

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

La Fayette, Madame de (Marie-Madeleine Pioche de La Vergne), 1634-1693

Language:

French

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"La Princesse de Clèves" by Madame de La Fayette is a historical novel written in the late 17th century. The book explores the complexities of love, ambition, and personal virtue against the backdrop of the French court during the reign of Henri II. The central figure, mademoiselle de Chartres, later known as the titular princess, is introduced along with several key characters, including the noble and conflicted prince de Clèves and the charming duke de Nemours. The opening of this novel sets the stage at the French court, detailing the magnificence and the brevity of relationships nestled within political intrigue and romantic entanglements. Mademoiselle de Chartres returns to court, captivating the attention of the prince de Clèves and establishing foundational aspects of her character, which reflect depth, modesty, and the influence of her mother's wisdom regarding love and virtue. As the narrative unfolds, tension arises among various noble figures in the court, including the duke de Nemours, whose growing infatuation with mademoiselle de Chartres complicates her already tumultuous emotional landscape, hinting at the conflicts that will define her choices and relationships throughout the story. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

Produced by Chuck Greif (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at http://gallica.bnf.fr)

Notes:

Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Princesse_de_Cl%C3%A8ves Wikipedia page about this book: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Princesse_de_Cl%C3%A8ves

Reading ease score: 66.2 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.

Release date is 2006-07-09