The classic, elegant translation of Stendhals masterful novel of ambition, desire, and politics in post-Napoleonic France. A BRILLIANT PORTRAIT of one of the most ruthlessly charming heroes in literature. The Red and the Black chronicles the rise and fall of Julian Sorel. Born into the peasantry, Sorel connives his way into the highest Parisian aristocratic circles. But his powers of seduction lead to his downfall when he commits a crime of passion.