The Princesse de Cleves

“Perhaps the most shocking book I’ve ever read is The Princess of Cleves, by Madame de La Fayette, in which the heroine refuses to marry the man she loves—he’s a cad—and instead enters a convent.” —B. D. McClay, The New York Times

Set towards the end of the reign of Henry II of France, The Princesse de Cleves (1678) tells of the unspoken, unrequited love between the fair, noble Mme de Cleves, who is married to a loyal and faithful man, and the Duc de Nemours, a handsome man most female court...