The Confession of a Child of the Century

by Alfred de Musset

Overview

The Napoleonic Wars are over. Octave, a young Parisian, loves his mistress Elise - until he witnesses her being unfaithful. In despair, he descends into decadence and libertinism. However, the death of his father takes Octave to the countryside where he falls in love with Brigitte, a young widow who spends most of her time caring for others. At first, Brigitte tries to resist his advances, but eventually they become lovers. Octave, however, is quickly overcome by suspicion. Will Brigitte remain true to him? Doesn't every woman betray her lover sooner or later?

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780141391861
Publisher:	Penguin Books, Limited
Publication date:	12/06/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	755 KB

About the Author

Alfred de Musset was born in 1810 in Paris. He attempted careers in medicine, law and drawing before publishing his first collection of poems, Contes d'Espagne et d'Italie (1829). He subsequently wrote numerous plays, and the erotic novel Gamiani, or Two Nights of Excess (1833) is sometimes attributed to him. From 1833 to 1835, he had an affair with the novelist George Sand, which became the basis for his most famous novel La Confession d'un Enfant du Siècle (1836). Sand herself also fictionalized the affair in her novel Elle et lui. Musset died in 1857 and was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

David Coward is Emeritus Professor of French at the University of Leeds. He won a Scott-Moncrieff prize for his edition of Albert Cohen's Belle du Seigneur, and has also translated Molière for Penguin Classics.