The Princesse de Clèves

Poised between the fading world of chivalric romance and a new psychological realism, Madame de Lafayette's novel of passion and self-deception marks a turning point in the history of the novel. When it first appeared anonymously in 1678—in the heyday of French classicism—it aroused fierce controversy among critics and readers, particularly for the extraordinary confession which forms the climax of the story. It is now regarded as a landmark in the history of women's writing. In this entire...