The Red and the Black - Modern Library Author:Stendhal In The Red and The Black (1830), young Julien Sorel nurtures anachronistic dreams of Napoleonic glory. However, a post-Revolutionary world of patronage-by the Church, politics, social arrivisme and women-points him toward more orthodox enterprises. This ambitious misfit is nonetheless feared and desired; and his inexplicable attempt at murde... more »r turns out to be an unparalleled way of extracting himself from convention. Stendhal, one of France's greatest novelists, fashions this story with a riveting psychological accuracy and a passionate awareness of political exigency.« less