Tab Article

Ratings: ★★★★★ (4.8/5)
Genre: Classic Literature / Historical Fiction / Adventure / Romance / French Literature

Book Review:
Stendhal’s The Charterhouse of Parma (1839) is an epic tale of passion, politics, and adventure set in Italy during the Napoleonic era. The young, handsome aristocrat Fabrizio del Dongo journeys to the Battle of Waterloo (in one of literature’s most celebrated battle descriptions), falls in love with the beautiful Clelia, becomes imprisoned in a fortress, and escapes through the desperate courage of his aunt, the magnificent Duchess Sanseverina. The novel is a dazzling exploration of love, ambition, hypocrisy, and the pursuit of happiness. Honoré de Balzac called it “the greatest novel of the age.” Hemingway loved it. This Penguin Classics edition features Margaret R. B. Shaw’s crisp translation. A must-read for lovers of French literature and psychological fiction.