Delphine (English) - Germaine de Staël

Suggest and discuss books to read (all languages welcome!)
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Peter Why
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Joined: November 24th, 2005, 3:54 am
Location: Chigwell (North-East London, U.K.)

Post by Peter Why »

There's a programme on the BBC today about the author. I was curious who she was, and looked her up on Wikipedia.

Author's entry on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germaine_de_Stael (the URL couldn't handle the ë in her family name)

There's just one translation into English on archive.org of her novel Delphine. Published 1836 - it may possibly be just volume one of three.

https://archive.org/details/delphinevolumes00degoog

From Wikipedia's entry on Delphine:
Delphine is the first novel by Anne Louise Germaine de Staël, published in 1802. The book is written in epistolary form (as a series of letters) and examines the limits of women's freedom in an aristocratic society. Although Madame de Staël denied political intent, the book was controversial enough for Napoleon to exile the author.

The story tales place in Paris between 1789 and 1792. Delphine d'Albémar, a young widow, arranges a wedding between one of her distant relatives, Matilde de Vernon, and Léonce de Mondoville. But she falls in love with Léonce, and as he is engaged with Matilde, their love is impossible. The story ends tragically with Delphine killing herself.

Peter
"I think, therefore I am, I think." Solomon Cohen, in Terry Pratchett's Dodger
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