The Charterhouse of Parma

A new translation of Stendhal's masterpiece chronicling the fortunes of Febrice del Dongo at an Italian court in post-Napoleonic France.

Henri Marie Beyle (1783-1842) had a post in the Ministry of War and followed Napoleon's campaigns before retiring to Italy. Here, as 'Stendhal', he began writing on art, music and travel. He later wrote novels, literary criticism, and various biographical and autobiographical works. 
 
 
John Sturrock is Consulting Editor for the London Review of Books, a literary critic, travel writer, and translator. His translations for Penguin include novels by Stendhal and Hugo, one volume of the new Proust translation: Sodom and Gomorrah, and most recently (with Jeremy Harding) a volume of Rimbaud's poems and letters (0140448020).

Headstrong and naïve, the young Italian aristocrat Fabrizio del Dongo is determined to defy the wrath of his right-wing father and go to war to fight for Napoleon. He stumbles on the Battle of Waterloo, ill-prepared, yet filled with enthusiasm for war and glory. Finally heeding advice, Fabrizio sneaks back to Milan, only to become embroiled in a series of amorous exploits, fuelled by his impetuous nature and the political chicanery of his aunt Gina and her wily lover. Judged by Balzac to be the most important French novel of its time, The Charterhouse of Parma is a compelling novel of extravagance and daring, blending the intrigues of the Italian court with the romance and excitement of youth.

The Red and the Black

Stendhal's dark, compelling tale of one man's descent into glamorous, greedy French society

Charting the rise and fall of an ambitious young social climber in a cruel, monarchical society, Stendhal's The Red and the Black is translated with an introduction and notes by Roger Gard in Penguin Classics. 
 
Handsome, ambitious Julien Sorel is determined to rise above his humble provincial origins. Soon realizing that success can only be achieved by adopting the subtle code of hypocrisy by which society operates, he begins to achieve advancement through deceit and self-interest. His triumphant career takes him into the heart of glamorous Parisian society, along the way conquering the gentle, married Madame de Rênal, and the haughty Mathilde. But then Julien commits an unexpected, devastating crime - and brings about his own downfall. The Red and the Black is a lively, satirical portrayal of French society after Waterloo, riddled with corruption, greed and ennui, and Julien - the cold exploiter whose Machiavellian campaign is undercut by his own emotions - is one of the most intriguing characters in European literature. 
 
Roger Gard's fine translation remains faithful to the natural, conversational tone of the original, while his introduction elucidates the complexities of Julien's character. This edition also contains a chronology, further reading and an appendix on Stendhal's use of epigraphs. 
 
Stendhal (1783-1842) was the pseudonym of Henri Marie Beyle, born and raised in Grenoble. Offered a post in the Ministry of War, from 1800 onwards he followed Napoleon's campaigns throughout Europe before retiring to Italy. Here, as 'Stendhal', he began writing on art, music and travel. Though not well-received during his lifetime, his work, including The Red and the Black (1830) and The Charterhouse of Parma (1839), now places him among the pioneers of nineteenth-century literary realism. 
 
If you enjoyed The Red and the Black, you may like Guy de Maupassant's Bel-Ami, also available in Penguin Classics.

Henri Marie Beyle (1783-1842) had a post in the Ministry of War and followed Napoleon's campaigns before retiring to Italy. Here, as 'Stendhal', he began writing on art, music and travel. He later wrote novels, literary criticism, and various biographical and autobiographical works. 
 
 
Roger Gard was a Reader in English at Queen Mary &amp; Westfield College, University of London. He has published work on Henry James and Jane Austen alongside his translations.

Handsome, ambitious Julien Sorel is determined to rise above his humble provincial origins. Soon realizing that success can only be achieved by adopting the subtle code of hypocrisy by which society operates, he begins to achieve advancement through deceit and self-interest. His triumphant career takes him into the heart of glamorous Parisian society, along the way conquering the gentle, married Madame de Rênal, and the haughty Mathilde. But then Julien commits an unexpected, devastating crime - and brings about his own downfall. The Red and the Black is a lively, satirical portrayal of French society after Waterloo, riddled with corruption, greed and ennui, and Julien - the cold exploiter whose Machiavellian campaign is undercut by his own emotions - is one of the most intriguing characters in European literature.

Love

Stendhal's intensely personal and yet universal work on Love

A timeless treatise on the unique power of human emotion, Stendhal's Love is translated by Gilbert and Suzanne Sale with an introduction by Jean Stewart and B.C.J.G. Knight in Penguin Classics. 
 
In 1818, when he was in his mid-thirties, Stendhal met and fell passionately in love with the beautiful Mathilde Dembowski. She, however, was quick to make it clear that she did not return his affections, and in his despair he turned to the written word to exorcise his love and explain his feelings. The result is an intensely personal dissection of the process of falling - and being - in love: a unique blend of poetry, anecdote, philosophy, psychology and social observation. Bringing together the conflicting sides of his nature, the deeply emotional and the coolly analytical, Stendhal created a work that is both acutely personal and universally applicable. 
 
This translation retains all the colour and passion of the original and is accompanied buy the author's original prefaces and appendices. In their introduction, Jean Stewart and B.C.J.G. Knight discuss the relationship between Stendhal and his beloved and explore his views on feminism, education and society. 
 
Stendhal (1783-1842) was the pseudonym of Henri Marie Beyle, born and raised in Grenoble. Offered a post in the Ministry of War, from 1800 onwards he followed Napoleon's campaigns throughout Europe before retiring to Italy. Here, as 'Stendhal', he began writing on art, music and travel. Though not well-received during his lifetime, his work, including The Red and the Black (1830) and The Charterhouse of Parma (1839), now places him among the pioneers of nineteenth-century literary realism. 
 
If you enjoyed Love, you might like Gustave Flaubert's Sentimental Education, also available in Penguin Classics. 
 
'The single most insightful book on the role of imagination on love' 
John Armstrong, author of Conditions of Love: The Philosophy of Intimacy

Marie Henri Beyle, known as Stendhal (1783 - 1842) fought during the Napoleonic wars.  After Napolean's fall, he retired to Italy and began to write under his pseudonym.  In 1821 he left Italy and returned to France, where he completed Love.  The Red and the Black was his second novel, and he completed three others.

In 1818, when he was in his mid-thirties, Stendhal met and fell passionately in love with the beautiful Mathilde Dembowski. She, however, was quick to make it clear that she did not return his affections, and in his despair he turned to the written word to exorcise his love and explain his feelings. The result is an intensely personal dissection of the process of falling - and being - in love: a unique blend of poetry, anecdote, philosophy, psychology and social observation. Bringing together the conflicting sides of his nature, the deeply emotional and the coolly analytical, Stendhal created a work that is both acutely personal and universally applicable.

The Life of Henry Brulard

The Life of Henry Brulard is the autobiography of one of France's greatest writers. In this book, written with such frankness that it remained unpublishable for more than a century after its composition, the author of The Charterhouse of Parma and The Red and the Black tells the story of his unhappy childhood in a stuffy provincial town and uncovers the roots of his rebellious and skeptical temperament. Stendhal conjures up the elusive presence of his beloved mother, who died when he was only seven, while castigating the smug complacency and social climbing of his father, and the cruelty of the aunt whose care blighted his early years. At the same time he recalls the sights, sounds, places, and people of his youth, its pleasures and sorrows, with an almost preternatural clarity and immediacy. A book of brilliant images and burning emotions, The Life of Henry Brulard, like Nabokov's Speak, Memory, is not only a vivid literary memoir but an extraordinary work of the imagination.

The Charterhouse Of Parma

The finest editions available of the world's greatest classics from Homer to Achebe, Tolstoy to Ishiguro, Proust to Pullman, printed on a fine acid-free, cream-wove paper that will not discolour with age, with sewn, full cloth bindings and silk ribbon markers, and at remarkably low prices. All books include substantial introductions by major scholars and contemporary writers, and comparative chronologies of literary and historical context.

Scarlet And Black

In this account of a disillusioned soul failing to come to terms with reality, the novelist recreates the Byronic anti-hero in the context of post-revolutionary France where the church, politics and society itself are in upheaval.

Stendhal

William Squire

Andrew Hall

Margo Gunn

Cyril Shaps

Full Cast

Edward de Souza

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

A BBC Radio drama of Stendhal's masterpiece - plus bonus documentary 
 
Both a sweeping chronicle of 19th Century France and a coming-of-age story of a young, idealistic social climber, The Red and the Black is one of the great works in world literature, and widely considered to be the first psychological novel. 
 
It charts the misadventures and romantic escapades of Julien Sorel, a timber miller's son who idolises Napoleon and dreams of military glory. But post-Waterloo, the path to power does not lie with the army (the 'red'), but the Church (the 'black'), so he decides to study for the priesthood. Then an opportunity arises to further increase his status as tutor to the Mayor's children - and when the Mayor's wife, Mme de Renal, falls in love with him, he seduces her. 
 
Their affair is discovered, and he is forced to leave Verrières and enter the seminary - only for his life to be transformed when his mentor, Abbé Pirard, finds him a job in Paris, as private secretary to the aristocratic Marquis de la Mole. Finally, Julien has an entrée into high society - and when he wins the heart of the Marquis' beautiful, haughty daughter Mathilde, he seems to have the world at his feet. But as his past returns to haunt him, Julien commits a terrible crime that will seal his fate... 
 
A gripping tale of love, ambition, morality and hypocrisy, The Red and the Black was adapted as an award-winning 1954 film by Claude Autant-Lara, and televised as a 1993 BBC mini-series starring Ewan McGregor. This lively, fast-paced radio adaptation stars William Squire as the Narrator and Andrew Hall as Julien, with a cast including Margo Gunn, Deborah Paige and Edward de Souza. 
 
Also included is the fascinating documentary feature Stendhal and Napoleon, in which Andy Martin tells how Stendahl followed Napoleon across Europe to Moscow in 1812 as catering manager to the troops - and changed fiction in the process. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Stendhal 
Translated by C.K. Scott Moncrieff 
Dramatised by D.G. Bridson 
Directed by Brian Miller 
 
Cast 
Narrator - William Squire 
Julien Sorel - Andrew Hall 
Mme de Renal - Deborah Paige 
Napoleon - Edward de Souza 
Mme Derville - Marilyn Le Conte 
M de Renal - John Franklyn-Robbins 
Fouqué - Norman Eshley 
Elise/Adolphe - Debby Comming 
Valenod/Guillaume - Esmond Rideout 
Mme Valenod/Marquise de la Mole - Margaret Robertson 
Abbé Chelan - Hedley Goodall 
Amanda - Rosalind Adams 
Abbé Pirard - Malcolm Hayes 
Student/Bishop/Antoine - Andrew Hilton 
Abbé Castenede - Roger Snowdon 
Abbé Chas Bernard - Haydn Andrews 
Examiner/Stewart - John Livesey 
Marquis de la Mole - Cyril Shaps 
Mlle Mathilde - Margo Gunn 
Norbert - Sion Probert 
Croisenois - Jon Glentoran 
Caylus/Coachman - Stephen Garlick 
Thayler/Lt Lievin - Anthony Hyde 
Chevalier de Beauvoisis - Alexander John 
Conde Altamira/Friar - Nicholas Courtney 
Academician - Christopher Scott 
Mathilde's cousin - Amanda Murray 
Queen Marguerite - Theresa Streatfeild 
Prince Korasoff - John Rye 
Mme la Margchal - Pauline Letts 
Gunsmith - John Webb 
Jailer - David Timson 
Magistrate - Alan Dudley 
Père Sorel - Jerold Wells 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2 August-13 September 1981 
 
Stendhal and Napoleon 
Presented by Andy Martin 
Produced by Tim Dee 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 9 December 2012 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

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