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The Charterhouse of Parma (1839)

by Stendhal

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
4,377792,636 (3.75)1 / 174
The Charterhouse of Parma (1839) is a compelling novel of passion and daring, of prisons and heroic escape, of political chicanery and sublime personal courage. Set at the beginning of the nineteenth century, amidst the golden landscapes of northern Italy, it traces the joyous but ill-starredamorous exploits of a handsome young aristocrat called Fabrice del Dongo, and of his incomparable aunt Gina, her suitor Prime Minister Mosca, and Clelia, a heroine of ethereal beauty and earthly passion.These characters are rendered unforgettable by Stendhal's remarkable gift for psychological insight. `Never before have the hearts of princes, ministers, courtiers, and women been depicted like this,' wrote Honore de Balzac. `Stendhal's tableau has the dimensions of a fresco but the precision ofthe Dutch masters.'The great achievement of The Charterhouse of Parma is to conjure up the excitement and romance of youth while never losing sight of the harsh realities which beset the pursuit of happiness, nor the humour and patient irony with which these must be viewed. This new translation captures Stendhal'snarrative verve, while the Introduction explores the novel's reception and the reasons for its enduring popularity and power.… (more)
  1. 30
    The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (P_S_Patrick)
    P_S_Patrick: These two books have a fair bit in common, though much is different between them too. They both are set in Italy and are concerned with court and family life, with politics, and the state of the country at the time they were written. The Charterhouse is set mainly in the north, around Milan, Parma, and Lake Como, near the Swiss border, in the first half of the 19th Century. The Leopard is set in the South, much of it in Sicily, starting over halfway through the 19th Century and ending in the next one. Stendhal writes dramatically about adventures and high emotions, whereas Lampedusa is far less baroque about it and writes with greater reserve and elegance. Together these books complement each other and give the reader a reasonably balanced view of Italian life over around a 100 years. Readers are likely to prefer one book over the other, but I am sure that if they enjoyed one they are very likely to enjoy the other. There are passages in the Charterhouse that outshine the best in the Leopard, but I prefer the latter due to it being nearer to perfection when taken as a whole.… (more)
  2. 30
    The Red and the Black by Stendhal (Anonymous user)
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» See also 174 mentions

English (49)  Italian (7)  Spanish (6)  Catalan (3)  French (3)  Dutch (2)  German (1)  Swedish (1)  Danish (1)  Hebrew (1)  Vietnamese (1)  All languages (75)
Showing 1-5 of 49 (next | show all)
I guess my biggest takeaway was that I enjoyed The Red and the Black more. The story just never quite engaged me. It takes place at the beginning of the 19th-century in northern Italy and follows a young aristocrat named Fabrice/Fabrizio del Dongo whose political career is nurtured by his aunt/love interest and her husband. The political allegiances of different parts of Italy at the time were confusing enough that I had to consult outside sources several times and my translation (by Richard Howard) seemed somehow “not quite right” from time to time, though mostly quite fluid and easy to read. It didn’t help that I didn’t find our protagonist particularly sympathetic or even likeable. (Interestingly enough, I found the protagonist in The Red and the Black also unlikeable but I thought that that book was much better done and much more believable.) Mostly, I just got tired of the “adventures” and what seemed to me to be Stendhal’s too-obvious techniques for delaying the resolution of the problem of the moment. It read a little bit like a bad Errol Flynn movie. Stendhal wrote it in 52 days they say, and while that could be seen as a great achievement, it could also account for some of the problems. Glad I read it, don’t know that I’d particularly recommend it. ( )
  Gypsy_Boy | Aug 25, 2023 |
8472916782
  archivomorero | May 21, 2023 |
Having enjoyed Stendahl's "The Red and the Black", I thought I would try "The Charterhouse of Parma". To me, not in the same league with "The R & B". Well written but not an engaging psychological portrait just a seemingly endless tale of political, romantic, and aristocratic interludes/intrigues. In the end, the lengthy tale is wrapped up with a hasty and artificial conclusion.

Readable but, in my mind, not a classic read. Just my ill-informed opinion. ( )
  colligan | Jan 8, 2023 |
8472916782
  archivomorero | Jun 27, 2022 |
This book is fucked up!
I hated this so called classic novel. It was pointless and digressive and at least this translation (or the original words) were tiresome. ( )
  Gumbywan | Jun 24, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 49 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (44 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
StendhalAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bair, LowellTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Balzac, Honoré deCommentarysecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Basso, HamiltonContributorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bellocchio, PiergiorgioIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bengtsson, GunTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bengtsson, Nils A.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Berges, ConsueloTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Busoni, RafaelloContributorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Busoni, RafaelloIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cantwell, RobertEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gard, RogerContributorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gimferrer, PereTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Goll-Köhler, J. M.Illustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Grunberg, ArnonAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hewlett, MauriceIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hill, JamesCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Howard, RichardTranslator & Afterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kars, TheoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Levin, HarryIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Loyd, Lady MaryTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Madden, JamesContributorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Martineau, HenriEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mendelsohn, DanielCommentarysecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Parker, Robert AndrewIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Raffel, BurtonContributorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rieger, ErwinTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sbarbaro, CamilloTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Scott Moncrieff, C. K.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Scott-Moncrieff, C. K.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Shaw, Margaret R. B.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sturrock, JohnIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Tadini, EmilioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Zanelli Quarantini, FrancaEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Già mi fur dolci inviti a empir le carte
i luoghi ameni.
Ariosto, Satira IV
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Le 15 mai 1796, le général Bonaparte fit son entrée dans Milan à la tête de cette jeune armée qui venait de passer le pont de Lodi, et d'apprendre au monde qu'après tant de siècles César et Alexandre avaient un successeur.
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The Charterhouse of Parma (1839) is a compelling novel of passion and daring, of prisons and heroic escape, of political chicanery and sublime personal courage. Set at the beginning of the nineteenth century, amidst the golden landscapes of northern Italy, it traces the joyous but ill-starredamorous exploits of a handsome young aristocrat called Fabrice del Dongo, and of his incomparable aunt Gina, her suitor Prime Minister Mosca, and Clelia, a heroine of ethereal beauty and earthly passion.These characters are rendered unforgettable by Stendhal's remarkable gift for psychological insight. `Never before have the hearts of princes, ministers, courtiers, and women been depicted like this,' wrote Honore de Balzac. `Stendhal's tableau has the dimensions of a fresco but the precision ofthe Dutch masters.'The great achievement of The Charterhouse of Parma is to conjure up the excitement and romance of youth while never losing sight of the harsh realities which beset the pursuit of happiness, nor the humour and patient irony with which these must be viewed. This new translation captures Stendhal'snarrative verve, while the Introduction explores the novel's reception and the reasons for its enduring popularity and power.

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Penguin Australia

An edition of this book was published by Penguin Australia.

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