The Charterhouse of Parma

Stendhal worked as a diplomat in northern Italy for decades, and his experiences add a rich verisimilitude to the many passages discussing courtly life. This also lends to the novel’s reputation as one of the earliest examples of literary realism; when it was published, it was considered a revolutionary work that went against the current of romanticism that was popular at the time.

He wrote the novel at a breakneck pace, completing it in just fifty-two days. He later admitted that parts of the plot were poorly structured and could have been improved with more careful writing and editing; despite this admission, The Charterhouse of Parma heavily influenced authors like Balzac, Tolstoy, and Henry James, who said it is “among the dozen finest novels we possess.”

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