La Princesse de Clèves

Events and intrigues unfold with great faithfulness to the documentary record, and the novel is generally regarded as one of the first examples of Western historical fiction.

Mademoiselle de Chartres is a sheltered heiress, sixteen years old, whose mother has brought her to the court of Henri II to seek a husband with good financial and social prospects.

The novel also sparked several public debates, including one about its authorship, and another about the wisdom of the Princess's decision to confess her adulterous feelings to her husband.

La Princesse de Clèves turned that on its head with a highly realistic plot, introspective language that explored the characters' inner thoughts and emotions, and few but important subplots concerning the lives of other nobles.

Beginning in 2006, before he became the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy denigrated the book, arguing that it was ridiculous that civil service entrance exams included questions on La Princesse de Clèves.

As a result, during the long movement of university lecturers in 2009 against his proposals, public readings of La Princesse de Clèves were held in towns around the country.

[2] It was also the basis of Régis Sauder's 2011 film Nous, princesses de Clèves, in which teenagers in an inner city school are studying the novel for their baccalaureate exam.