"Les Liaisons Dangereuses," by Peirre Choderlos de Laclos, is part of the ""Barnes & Noble Classics" "series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of "Barnes & Noble Classics": New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. "Barnes & Noble Classics "pulls together a constellation of influences-biographical, historical, and literary-to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. Love . . . sex . . . seduction. Of the three, only the last matters. Love is a meaningless word, and sex an ephemeral pleasure, but seduction is an amusing game in which victory means power and the ability to humiliate one's enemies and revel with one's friends. So it is for the Vicomte de Valmont and the Marquise de Merteuil, two supremely bored aristocrats during the final years before the French Revolution. Together they concoct a wildly wicked wager: If Valmont can successfully seduce the virtuous wife of a government official, Madame deTourvel, then Madame Merteuil will sleep with him again. But Madame Merteuil also wants Valmont to conquer the young and innocent former convent schoolgirl, Cecile Volanges. Can he do both?
When "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" was first published in 1782, it both scandalized and titillated the aristocracy it was aimed against, who publicly denounced it and privately devoured it. Today we still recognize its relevance, for what could be more contemporary than its appalling image of everyday evil - small, selfish, manipulative, and mean. Alfred Mac Adam, Professor at Barnard College-Columbia University, teaches Latin American and comparative literature. He is a translator of Latin American fiction and writes extensively on art.

The complex moral ambiguities of seduction and revenge make Les Liaisons dangereuses (1782) one of the most scandalous and controversial novels in European literature. Its prime movers, the Vicomte de Valmont and the Marquise de Merteuil--gifted, wealthy, and bored--form an unholy alliance and turn seduction into a game. And they play this game with such wit and style that it is impossible not to admire them, until they discover mysterious rules that they cannot understand. In the ensuing battle there can be no winners, and the innocent suffer with the guilty. This new translation gives Laclos a modern voice, and readers will be able to judge whether the novel is as "diabolical" and "infamous" as its critics have claimed, or whether it has much to tell us about a world we still inhabit.
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Une histoire choquante de la manipulation et de vengeance, Les Liaisons Dangereuses suit les sch mas de la marquise du Merteuil contre son ancien amant, le vicomte de Valmont. La paire d'aristocrates vie pour la supr matie dans la manipulation des autres; employant la s duction et de tentation que leurs armes, leur but est de d shonorer les autres dans les yeux de la classe sup rieure de la soci t fran aise. Pour sa part, Merteuil est d termin ternir la r putation de la jeune C cile, qui a jusqu'ici men une vie pure dans un couvent. Les deux C cile et son int r t pour l'amour, la musique pr cepteur Chevalier Danceny, sont involontairement utilis s dans les r gimes cruels de Merteuil et Valmont. Ce qui suit est une histoire de tension remplie d'amoralit , la tromperie, la jalousie et la honte. L'histoire est enti rement racont e travers des correspondances entre les personnages, de sorte que le r cit et les v nements se d roulent.

Une histoire choquante de la manipulation et de vengeance, Les Liaisons Dangereuses suit les sch mas de la marquise du Merteuil contre son ancien amant, le vicomte de Valmont. La paire d'aristocrates vie pour la supr matie dans la manipulation des autres; employant la s duction et de tentation que leurs armes, leur est de d shonorer les autres dans les yeux de la classe sup rieure de la soci t fran aise. Pour sa part, Merteuil est d termin ternir la r putation de la jeune C cile, qui a jusqu'ici men une vie pure dans un couvent. Les deux C cile et son int r t pour l'amour, la musique pr cepteur Chevalier Danceny, sont involontairement utilis s dans les r gimes cruels de Merteuil et Valmont. Ce qui suit est une histoire de tension remplie d'amoralit , la tromperie, la jalousie et la honte. L'histoire est enti rement racont e travers des correspondances entre les personnages, de sorte que le r cit et les v nements se d roulent.