num_pages: 176
description: 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, in particular for the extraordinary confession which forms the climax of the story.
language: French
title: La princesse de Clèves
titlecomplete: La princesse de Clèves
characters: Catherine de Medici, The Princess of Clèves, Mary, Queen of Scots, Henri II of France, Jacques de Savoie, duke of Nemours
genres: Fiction, French Literature, Classics, France, Historical, Historical Fiction, Romance, Literature, 17th Century, School
ratings_count: 15448
publisher: Gallimard Education