The Red and the Black (Penguin
Classics) by Stendhal
Still The Most Charismatic Novel Ever Written
Handsome and ambitious, Julien Sorel is determined to rise above his
humble peasant origins and make something of his life-by adopting the
code of hypocrisy by which his society operates. Julien ultimately commits
a crime-out of passion, principle, or insanity-that will bring about his
downfall. The Red and the Black is a lively, satirical picture of French
Restoration society after Waterloo, riddled with corruption, greed, and
ennui. The complex, sympathetic portrayal of Julien, the cold exploiter
whose Machiavellian campaign is undercut by his own emotions, makes
him Stendhals most brilliant and human creation-and one of the greatest
characters in European literature.
Translated with an introduction by Roger Gard.

Personal Review: The Red and the Black (Penguin Classics) by
Stendhal
This novel has everything: political intrigue, the psychological detail of
detective work, the ambiguity of love and romance; it's a comedy of
manners, but also a saga of helplessness and tragedy, incisive social
commentary. Published in 1830, The Red and The Black, is timeless: its
relevance to contemporary Westernized or Americanized, bureaucratic,
and capitalist-developed nations is both a condemnation and a triumph.
The Red and the Black first caught my attention 25 years ago in January
1983; a stack of copies were set out on a table in the Tattered Cover
Bookshop, Denver (then on 1st Avenue in the Cherry Creek area). At that
time, the Penguin edition was a new translation to commemorate the 200th
anniversary of the birth of the author, Henri-Marie Beyle, January 23, 1783.
I don't know how or why I decided to buy a copy; maybe it had something
to do with the brief review on the back cover, which was perhaps then as it
is now: "Handsome, ambitious Julien Sorel is determined to rise above his
humble provincial origins." Maybe I saw something of Julien in myself, or
maybe like Mathilde de la Mole, I was looking for a life outside the script
dictated by parents and society, or trying to find a world beyond
materialism and utilitarianism, something inspirational and possibly
Romantic. It was with this novel that I first realized that a writer could
communicate intimately across centuries; I fell in love with Stendhal. I
wanted to know about his life. He wrote with integrity; he wrote what he
knew to be true about life, and he did not let the marketplace dictate what
he should write. Beyle was a human being first, then a writer.
In January 1983, as now in January 2008, reading The Red and the Black,
I am astounded with the author's ability to move smoothly from the
character's interior thoughts into action or landscape while encompassing
his characters in their political/social matrix. Whether in a high-society
drawing room or in the stillness of night, Stendhal gave his work
movement, dynamism. There is something uncanny about the author's
ability to draw characters like Madame de Renal and her husband, a small-
town merchant, politician, religious hypocrite. It is the Renals of the world
who have the power to destroy the Romantically inspired Juliens and
Mathildes, and yet a market-driven nation doesn't seem to function without
the Renals. An unusual but appropriate companion reading to Stendhal's
work might be Tocqueville's Democracy in America; volume one published
in 1835.
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