The Charterhouse of Parma narrates the adventures of the young noble Italian Fabrizio del Dongo, from its birth in 1798 to his death. Fabrice spent his early years in the family’s castle on Lake Como, while most of the rest of the novel is set in a fictionalized Parma. The book begins with the French army sweep in Milan and stir the sleepy region of Lombardy, which was allied with Austria. Fabrice grows surrounded by intrigues and alliances for and against the French.

This novel was written in the year 1830, in a place some three hundred leagues from Paris. Many years before that, when our armies were pouring across Europe, I chanced to be billeted in the house of a canon. It was at Padua-a fortunate city, where, as in Venice, men's pleasure is their chief business, and leaves them little time for anger with their neighbours. My stay was of some duration, and a friendship sprang up between the canon and myself. Passing through Padua again, in 1830, I hu...

Stendhal’s masterpiece chronicles the struggles of a young man with the duality of his nature. Julien Sorel, a young dreamer of the province whose imagination is on fire with the ideals of Napoleon, began to make his fortune in the Paris-based Restoration France. His encounters and experiences along the path constantly incite internal conflict, pulling back and forth between sincerity and hypocrisy, idealism and cynicism, humility and pride, love and ambizionen.

The Red and the Black is a historical psychological novel by Stendhal, published in French in 1830 as Le Rouge et le noir. The novel, set in France during the Second Restoration (1815-30), is a powerful character study of Julien Sorel, an ambitious young man who uses seduction as a tool for advancement. M. de Rênal, the mayor of the provincial town Verrières, hires Julien Sorel to be his children's tutor. Julien is only a carpenter's son, but dreams of following in the footsteps of his her...

It was in the winter of 1830 and three hundred leagues from Paris that this tale was written; thus it contains no allusion to the events of 1839. Many years before 1830, at the time when our Armies were overrunning Europe, chance put me in possession of a billeting order on the house of a Canon: this was at Padua, a charming town in Italy; my stay being prolonged, we became friends. Passing through Padua again towards the end of 1830, I hastened to the house of the good Canon: he himself w...

Published in 1830, Scarlet and Black (Le Rouge et Le Noir) tells the story of a provincial young man’s attempts to socially rise beyond his modest upbringing with a combination of talent and hard work, deception and hypocrisy — yet who ultimately allows his passions to betray him.In Scarlet and Black, Stendhal paints a sweeping portrait of early nineteenth-century France – its social classes, professions, politics, and manners – in Paris and the provinces...

A rich and beautiful Italian princess falls in love with an Italian peasant fighting to free Italy. The Catholic church appears to be oppressing the country. Using wealth and cunning, she tries to "free" her lover from his cause. Things do not go well. It is very hard to figure which side to root for without knowing the history of the time.

The future prime minister displayed flashes of brilliance that equalled the greatest Victorian novelists.

This 1818 novel is set in a former abbey whose owner, Christopher Glowry, is host to visitors who enjoy his hospitality and engage in endless debate. Among these guests are figures recognizable to Peacock's contemporaries, including characters based on Lord Byron and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Mr. Glowry's son Scythrop (also modeled on a famous Romantic, Peacock's friend Percy Bysshe Shelley) locks himself up in a tower where he reads German tragedies and transcendental philosophy and develo...

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 b...

This book, newly updated, contains now several HTML tables of contents that will make reading a real pleasure!The first table of contents (at the very beginning of the ebook) lists the titles of all novels included in this volume. By clicking on one of those titles you will be redirected to the beginning of that work, where you'll find a new TOC that lists all the chapters and sub-chapters of that specific work.Here you will find the complete novels and nove...

A Venetian adventurer, author, and lifelong womanizer, the name of Casanova has become interchangeable with the art of seduction since the 18th century. In his most notable book, "Story of My Life," Casanova narrates countless tales of the people with whom he interacted: lovers, European royalty, clergymen, and artists such as Goethe, Voltaire, and Mozart. His writing demonstrates his talent for dialogue, while his life seems an inadvertent testament to skill in plot development. Casanova ...