
Set against the glittering yet morally brittle salons of pre‑revolutionary France, the story unfolds through a series of intimate letters exchanged by the era’s most cunning aristocrats. A brilliant, seductive widow and a rakish, charismatic lieutenant engage in a calculated game of manipulation, using wit and charm to test the limits of desire and power. Their correspondence reveals a world where reputation is a weapon and every flirtation hides a deeper scheme.
As the intrigue spreads, unsuspecting lovers and innocent acquaintances become unwitting pieces on a chessboard of revenge and ambition. Through sharp dialogue and razor‑thin observation, the narrative exposes the fragile veneer of civility that masks ruthless ambition. Listeners will be drawn into a tense dance of flirtation, betrayal, and the perilous art of social conquest, all rendered in the elegant, epistolary style that makes the tale feel like a whispered secret from a bygone aristocratic circle.
Full title
Les liaisons dangereuses Lettres recueillies dans une Société et publiées pour l'instruction de quelques autres
Language
fr
Duration
~14 hours (848K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Clarity, Hans Pieterse and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at http://gallica.bnf.fr and the Hathi Trust at https://www.hathitrust.org/)
Release date
2016-05-05
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1741–1803
Best known for Les Liaisons dangereuses, he brought a cool, sharp intelligence to one of literature’s most unsettling novels. His mix of military discipline and psychological insight helped create a story that still feels startlingly modern.
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