About this title: First published in 1782, "Les Liasons Dangereuses" was then a best-seller despite the scandal it incurred upon members of the French aristocracy, exposing as it did the endless debauchery and degeneracy that went on behind the facade of manners and mores. The Vicomte de Valmont and the Marquise de Merteuil, a cynical pair of ex-lovers, take on the task of destroying a young betrothed couple. Valmont seduces the bride-to-be, while Madame de Merteuil seduces her fiance in a merciless game of one-upmanship.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Routledge
Date Published: 1987
ISBN-13:9780415094474ISBN:041509447X
Description: Fine Like New, Unread, not previously owned. May show signs of wear including remainder marks or stickers on book or cover. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 448 p. read more
Edition: Éd. illustrée].
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Editions Garnier Fréres, Paris
Date Published: 1961
Description: No dust jacket as issued. Former owner's signature on title page. No other Writing. No Highlighting. Text in French. l, [1], 402 p. : ill.; 18 cm. Includes Illustrations. Bibliography: p. [li] read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers! Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: VG Used, Very Good in VG jacket. PAPERBACK, VG/VG, Pocket, 1988, 1.3 in. H x 6.6 in. L x 4.1 in. W, 7.1 oz. This copy has visible but minimal creasing of the spine, is in otherwise Very Good condition. Note: expect tanning of any paperback more than a few years old, regardless of condition. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Distribooks
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9782877141536ISBN:2877141535
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. A moderate amount of wear on Cover and interior pages. Light creases. Text in English, French. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. World Classics (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
"I do not remember the first time I saw the 1988 film "Dangerous Liaisons" with John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Glenn Close. All I know is that it was the first time I had ever seen John Malkovich, and I fell in love with him as Malkovich/Valmonde. It was an amazing first impression of the man and has guided my image of him from then on out.
But this could only have been possible, because the story and the character were so powerful. I found the story and character also well-done in Ryan Phillipee's Sebastian in "Cruel Intentions."
However, I had never read the book. And I was very hesitant to do so, because it was an 18th century novel written in the format of letters. All letters. I usually hate letter-format novels, AND it seemed possible that the older language of classic novels might leave out some of the sexual and proud tension exhibited in the movies.
But, Ms. April showed up with the book in her hands, and I had no excuse - not money, not inability to find it at the bookstore (true story) - to read the book. So I relented. I cracked the cover. And wow. I couldn't stop reading it. I had just started "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and I thought that maybe I would be switching between the two, but Liaisons naturally got first billing.
It's an incredible story that has all of the tension and drama as the movies even though it is written through letters. I really enjoyed it, and I did not predict that I would feel that way at first."
"Laclos's book caused a sensation in its own time that reverberated for decades afterward; 40 years after its publication it was condemned by a criminal court and publicly incinerated in a mass book-burning ceremony. Choderlos de Laclos' epistolary novel has been made into at least two film versions that I know of, but none of them come nearly up to the real thing. I'm of course referring to "Dangerous Liaisons" which then inspired "Cruel Intentions".
The anti-hero and anti-heroine of this book, the Vicomte de Valmont and the Marquis de Merteuil, fascinate and repel us at once by their sheer wickedness. Valmont is a depraved Casanova, who has lost count of all the broken hearts and destroyed characters he has left in his wake. The Marquise de Merteuil, married and widowed too young, has combined shrewd intelligence with appalling powers of deception to engage a string of lovers whom she uses and casts off at random. Somehow these two find each other and form an unholy partnership.
When the book opens, their affair is already spent, but they have remained friends; and the Marquise is infuriated when she learns she is about to be dumped by her current lover, a rich aristocrat named Gercourt, who is about to marry Cecile de Volanges, the most naive teenager who ever emerged from the protective cocoon of convent education. Her main attraction, for him, is her virginity, and it is this the Marquise wants Valmont to do away with so that Gercourt will find out on his wedding night that he didn't get the innocent virgin he was expecting, but an already corrupted young woman, and will become the laughing stock of Paris.
The way "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" is written as a collection of what seems like real life letters revealing a scandal, that have been passed around members of society and finaly published makes you feel almost a part of the story.
"Once one becomes interested in the game, there is no knowing where one will stop." While written in the same lingusitic and seductive style of a libertine novel, Laclos transforms the limited and mundane scope of the libertine world into a riveting classic. Each character reflects a different conception of "love" and how the libertine world can go awry when true sentiment is confused with lust.
"I willingly allow that money does not guarantee happiness; but it must also be allowed that it makes happiness a great deal easier to achieve." La Marquise de Merteuil reflects the purest degree of libertinage. In perhaps the most spellbinding of all the letters, she explains to Valmont her duplictious conduct after her husband's death to obtain her reputation among men and place herself at the forefront of society's attention. In contrast, Mlle. de Tourvel is the epitome of sentimental love, to the point that she can become physically ill if it is not reciprocated.
Clearly what separates this work from other romance novels of the 18th century, elevating it to the level of other world masterpieces, is the character of Valmont. He is the heart and soul of this novel in every way possible. "Monsieur de Valmont, with an illustrious name, a large fortune, and many agreeable qualities, early realized that to achieve influence in society no more is required than to practice the arts of adulation and ridicule with equal skill."
One one hand, Valmont is extremely self-assured in his ways, when describing his calculating, rational strategy in courting naive young ladies. "When a woman's heart has been severely tried for any length of time it needs rest; and I have noticed that flattery is in every case the softest pillow to proffer." On the other hand, he refuses to accept the reality evidenced by his relationship with Mme. de Tourvel that he is not the manipulative libertine that he, and society, consider him to be.
Book Details:
Title Les Liaisons Dangereuses (translated into English as "Dangerous Liaisons") Author Pierre Choderlos de Laclos Reviewed By Purplycookie"
"Absolutely fabulous book. It's unique and fresh in its style and sooo much goes on in between the lines. Read the book, don't see the movie! This is because the novel is written as "a collection of letters of correspondence" found between a network of about five or six people. You'd miss a lot of good thinking by seeing the movie. Two of the characters plot to seduce/take advantage of the others, and everyone has a colorful personality. The cool thing is you're always trying to figure out the ulterior motives, especially when it's the naive people recounting events in their letters. Highly reccommended. Written in the 17th century."
"This book is a fascinating critique of gender relations and power structures within society, and a scalding indictment of "society." I love it because it's fascinating, engrossing, and eerily modern-feeling. If you saw Cruel Intentions and liked it, you'll LOVE this. The main female character is very well developed and complex, claiming sexual agency in the only ways allowed her within an extremely socially articulated role. She's also evil and I love it."
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