The Princess of Cleves Author:Madame de La Fayette "Rumors bestir and reputations tremble in the sumptuous sixteeth-century court of Henri II. Against this lavish decadence, two of baroque literature's most exquisite lovers -- the Princess of Cleves and the Duc de Nemours -- enact their masque of devotion, singular confessions, and eccentric renunciation. — "Tortuously delicate, Madame de La Fay... more »ette's detailed romance reverberates with understated intrigue and brazenly forthright portraits. Widely circulated in French court circles, The Princess of Cleves heralded two main streams in literature -- the psychological novel and the 'roman a clef.' Jean Cocteau wrote, 'Read The Princess of Cleves; read and study it. In it you will find an illustration of Nietzsche's aphorism: "Soundlessly, on dove's feet, they make their way amongst us -- the ideas that change the face of the earth." ' "
A New Translation with a Foreword by Water J. Cobb