Germaine de Staël's first major novel, Delphine, published in 1802, is a profound commentary on the status of women during a critical period of French political history. Delphine's eighteenth-century conventional form as an epistolary novel masks its unconventional questioning of accepted values and norms.
From the start, the Napoleonic government understood that Delphine was more than just a tale of tragic love. Though Staël disclaimed any intention of writing a political novel, the subversive aspects of a book dedicated to "The France of Silence" were not lost on Bonaparte, who prompty exiled the author from Paris. Perhaps most unacceptable to Napoleon was Staël's assertion of the rights of the individual, particularly those of women. The novel is especially important for its presentation of the plight of women at the end of the eighteenth century.
This translation of Delphine is based on the authoritative critical French edition prepared by Simone Balayé. Goldberger's introduction places the novel in the context of Staël's work and the thought of the times.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
"A new and admirable translation."—New York Review of Books
"This remarkable translation is highly recommended."
—Choice
"This excellent translation ... reads elegantly."
—Nineteenth-Century French Studies
Language Notes
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not a bad novel, but for a certain taste,
By GJC (World) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: DELPHINE (Paperback)
Here is one of these obscure European novels from the first decade of the 19th century. I'd recommend this to fans of A) the 18th century epistolary tradition of novels (the connection to Dangerous Liasons is an easy one to make), or B) fans of early domestic fiction a la Jane Austen or Maria Edgeworth.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
