Product Description

This is a translation of the novel of decadence and moral corruption in pre-revolutionary France which tells the story of the conspiracy between the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont to debauch a young girl.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1426875 in Books
• Published on: 1962-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 1 pages

Review
“If this book burns, it burns as only ice can burn.”
—Baudelaire

About the Author
Choderlos de Laclos (1741–1803) entered the army at the age of eighteen and reached the rank of capitaine-commandant without seeing battle. He was sent to the island of Aix, where Dangerous Liaisons was written.
Helen Constantine, current chairman of the Translators’ Association, has translated Théophile Gautier’s Mademoiselle de Maupin for Penguin Classics.

From AudioFile
Les Liaisons Dangereuses has been made into a play and twice filmed within the last decade. None of these versions did much to explain what makes this epistolary novel of cynical seduction a masterpiece. This recording should help. The letters are read by a superb cast that makes manifest the societal and psychological intricacies between the lines of the text. The period music used for bridges reinforces the sense of time and place. The abridgment of the graceful, uncredited translation is particularly judicious. If there's a fault, it's that while the original evokes a compelling sexuality at the same time that it evokes revulsion, the audio actors aren't equally adept at such a delicate balance. Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Superb - absolutely so.
I loved the movie Dangerous Liasons with Glenn Close and John Malkovich and decided to try this audio version of the book. I can't say it was better than the movie, but the audio is superb. It is on 3 CDs and so is longer than the movie and supplies more detail. Since it is in letter form, its style more closely follows the book. The readers show incredible and intense emotion in their voices - you can almost see them in your mind. It made my commuting a joy for several days - I was almost sorry when I got to the office or arrived back home and had to quit listening. Such devious-ness! Who is the most wicked? Enjoy.

Finally on Kindle!
Finally a Kindle edition of de Laclos' masterpiece! The novel (adapted into a fine film with Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeifer in the 1980s) is one of the great works of world literature. Shocking in its sexual candor, even by modern standards, it offers great insight into the decadence of French aristocracy on the eve of the French Revolution as the two main characters set out to debase and destroy innocent lives - all for their own amusement.

Info on the tapes
I must admit that I have not listened to the tapes. However, the new movie "Crule Intentions" is based on this book. I have seen the movie and if the two are anything alike, I would highly recommend ordering them.