The Red and the Black by Stendhal
The novel is a detailed psychological portrait of Julien Sorel, a young man from a provincial background who aspires to rise above his humble beginnings. He uses his intelligence and hypocrisy to advance in the post-Napoleonic French society, which is deeply divided by class and political loyalties. The story is a critique of the society's materialism and hypocrisy as Julien's ambitions lead him to a tragic end. The title refers to the contrasting uniforms of the army and the church, the two routes available to him for upward mobility.
The 52nd greatest book of all time
- Published
- 1830
- Nationality
- French
- Type
- Fiction
- Pages
- 300-500
- Words
- 217,000
- Original Language
- French
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This book is on the following lists:
- 6th on Biblioteca (Argentina)
- 7th on The Greatest Stories Ever Told (The Sydney Morning Herald)
- 9th on El Pais Favorite Books of 100 Spanish Authors (El Pais)
- 10th on Pour une Bibliothèque Idéale (Raymond Queneau)
- 14th on 100 Books of Classical and Modern Foreign Literature (The Union of Russian Writers)
- 22nd on 100 Essential Books (Bravo! Magazine)
- 28th on The 100 Greatest Novels (greatbooksguide.com)
- 29th on The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time (The Novel 100)
- 38th on Our Users' Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 41st on Big Read (Hungarian) (Hungaria)
- 45th on The 100 Best Books of World Literature (ABC.es)
- 50th on The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users (Culture Café)
- 59th on The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time (The Top 10 (Book))
- 67th on The Complete 500: OCLC (OCLC)
- 85th on The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read (Telegraph)
- One Hundred Best Books (1916) (John Cowper Powys)
- The Bigger Read List (English PEN)
- W. Somerset Maugham’s Ten Greatest Novels of All Time (Great Novelists and Their Novels)
- ZEIT-Bibliothek der 100 Bücher (Die Zeit)
- Världsbiblioteket (The World Library) (Tidningen Boken)
- The New Lifetime Reading Plan (The New Lifetime Reading Plan)
- Masterpieces of World Literature (Frank N. Magill)
- Best Books Ever (bookdepository.com)
- The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written (Easton Press)
- Top 100 Works in World Literature (Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon (The Western Canon (Book) by Harold Bloom)
- Inteliquest's World's 100 Greatest Books of All-Time (InteliQuest)
- Landmarks of World Literature (Cambridge University)
- William H. F. Lamont’s 100 Best Novels (1947) (archive.org)
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)