Recommendations from our site
“What I find so engaging is Julian’s mix of innocence and burning ambition to make his way. You don’t really blame him for doing what he does. As I say, it’s a wonderfully wicked tale. I mean, I should say, it all falls apart in the end because of the jealousies of the women Julian seduces. In the end he gets his comeuppance. Still, one can’t help sympathising with him as a character.” Read more...
The Best Historical Fiction Set in France
David Lawday, Biographer
“It’s a great picaresque, anti-hero tale. I remember asking my grandfather what it was like to be in the trenches in the First World War, where life expectancy for a young soldier was about two to three weeks. My grandfather replied it was completely ghastly… but he wouldn’t have missed it for anything. In a funny way, I think that’s Stendhal’s view of Napoleon, he’s pretty ambiguous about it all, but at the same time, completely fascinated. It’s a great description of a society in flux.” Read more...
Five of the Best European Classics
David Campbell, Publisher
