Published in 1782, just years before the French Revolution, Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a disturbing and ultimately damning portrayal of a decadent society. At its centre are two aristocrats, former lovers, who embark on a sophisticated game of seduction and manipulation to bring amusement to their jaded existences. While the Marquise de Merteuil challenges the Vicomte de Valmont to seduce an innocent convent girl, the Vicomte is also occupied with the conquest of a virtuous married woman. But as their intrigues become more duplicitous and they find their human pawns responding in ways they could not have predicted, the consequences prove to be more serious, and deadly, than Merteuil and Valmont could have guessed.
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"If this book burns, it burns as only ice can burn."
-Baudelaire
-Baudelaire
About the Author
Choderlos de Laclos was born in 1741, at Amiens. He entered the army at the age of 18 and reached the rank of capitaine-commandant without seeing battle. In 1779 he was sent to the island of Aix, where Dangeruous Liaisons was written.
Helen Constantine has translated Théophile Gautier's Mademoiselle de Maupin for Penguin Classics which will be published in 2004 with an introduction by Patricia Duncker. And with David Constantine, she has translated a volume of Henri Michaux's poetry, Spaced and Displaced (Bloodaxe). She lives in Oxford.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Yellow Duck
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I first read "Dangerous Liaisons" as a set text for an Open University course. "Oh dear! France in the 18th. century. Ah well - needs must!" After the first 2 or 3 letters - wow! Read it on the Underground going to work. Read it in coffee break. Read it when I should have been working. Read it in bed. What a wonderful account of two dissolute, amoral, exploitive, over-privileged, self-regarding French aristos, devoting their idle, pointless lives to the destruction of others' reputations. They even exploit and involve their own servants in their pathetic schemes. You find yourself hoping that the Marquise and the Viconte ended up "looking out of the Republican window" when the French Revolution rounded up their ilk. The writing style is inevitably ornate by modern standards, with some sentences the length of Guardian leader columns - but you get used to it. I think that in this edition, the translator has attempted to render some of the 18th. century French idiom into its modern English equivalent. Hey - there's maybe an Open University Ph.D degree in that!
An afterthought - surely the book is way, way better than any film that could be made of it?
An afterthought - surely the book is way, way better than any film that could be made of it?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Rebecca
Format:Paperback
Told through letters, Les Liaisons chronicles the erotic adventures of the evil Madame Merteuil and her former lover the Vicomte de Valmont. This sadistic duo teams up to manipulate, corrupt, and drag the reputations of countless individuals into obloquy. The sad part is they succeed in everything they set out to do. If there is any vindication, it comes at too high a cost. There are no heroes or winners in this novel, only victims. Though written in the 18th century, this epistolary novel still has the power to shock, disturb, and titillate. People today may recognize dangerous truths contained in its pages or pitfalls that they might have encountered in their callow days. I was not particularly fond of this novel, being as it was a catalogue of the escapades of a pair of perverse, lascivious, cruel individuals, however I am glad that I read it, and I do not rule out re-reading it again. As a slamming indictment against the decadence of the French aristocracy and against the loss of long-cherished values among the women of today, this book is worth studying.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Penguin here give us a new translation of Dangerous Liasions that is very good. M Laclos apparently said that he wanted to write a book that would stand out and cause a stir after he was dead. I suspect that he didn't expect people to be avidly reading it over 200 years later and still enjoying it.
What Laclos gives us is a story in the epistolary form of what happens when people are rich and titled and have become bored, looking for new ways to entertain themsleves; much as the Marquis de Sade wrote about. Two people a man and a woman, go about taking people's virginity, causing a stir and scandal amongst others, in an attempt to outdo each other. Of course things don't always run smoothly between these two people, with disastrous results.
Although this book was written in the eighteenth century it still carries a resonance in todays world. There are people out there who take advantage of others and play games like those in this book, with no idea or care of the trouble they cause, and that is why this book has remained so popular. Laclos did more than write a book of his times but did something special, he wrote a book for all times.
Be warned this book will shock you and make you laugh, due to its darkly black humour, but you will not be able to stop yourself from reading it cover to cover, and re-reading it again and again. This a definite must have for any bookcase.
What Laclos gives us is a story in the epistolary form of what happens when people are rich and titled and have become bored, looking for new ways to entertain themsleves; much as the Marquis de Sade wrote about. Two people a man and a woman, go about taking people's virginity, causing a stir and scandal amongst others, in an attempt to outdo each other. Of course things don't always run smoothly between these two people, with disastrous results.
Although this book was written in the eighteenth century it still carries a resonance in todays world. There are people out there who take advantage of others and play games like those in this book, with no idea or care of the trouble they cause, and that is why this book has remained so popular. Laclos did more than write a book of his times but did something special, he wrote a book for all times.
Be warned this book will shock you and make you laugh, due to its darkly black humour, but you will not be able to stop yourself from reading it cover to cover, and re-reading it again and again. This a definite must have for any bookcase.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this
Can't wait to start reading it. Written in letters this novel looks brilliant, so far a great translation.
Very happy with the condition of the book, no problems there. Read more
Very happy with the condition of the book, no problems there. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Abigail Browning
5.0 out of 5 stars
brilliant read
Read with partner , favourite film of both.Thoroughly enjoyed and about to read again as it is so talk inspiring
Published 4 months ago by karen stent
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wickedly Delicious!
This novel stands out in two distinct ways. The first is that the narrative moves along in the form of correspondance between several characters who are all connected to each other... Read more
Published 13 months ago by N C
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really well translated
I am sometimes hesitant about buying translated versions of French classics, as sometimes they just don't sound right. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Lulah2012
5.0 out of 5 stars
Much easier than expected
I was expecting it to be really heavy going, the thin pages and tiny print put me off a bit, but it's actually an excellent read. Read more
Published 18 months ago by rme
5.0 out of 5 stars
A work which departed from the ordinary, which made a noise, and which...
Although this book represents a historical period from the past, which is the french aristocracy a few years before the french revolution, I believe Dangerous Liaisons is still of... Read more
Published on 6 July 2010 by Omnes
5.0 out of 5 stars
FAB!!
Arrived really quickly... Thanks. Not read it yet though as I already have a bulk of books to read. Read more
Published on 13 May 2010 by D. Wiley
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not an easy read
We selected this title for our Book Group's August reading, wanting to tackle a 'classic' as well as the modern literature we've been choosing. Oh boy. Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2009 by the wordy bird
5.0 out of 5 stars
EXQUISITE
ESSENTIAL FOR A DESERT ISLAND- SEXUAL POLITICS AR THEIR MOST INTRIGUING-LECLOS GETS DOWN AND DIRTY ALL ENCOMPASSED IN DECOUROUS LETTERS AND MESSAGES-FASCINATING-LOVED IT
Published on 26 Nov 2007 by J. R. Macpherson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
Excellent performance. It really gets you hooked. The music intermezzos are well chosen and add to the building of the climax of the story.
Published on 31 Aug 2003 by Pericone
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