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Dangerous Liaisons (Les Liaisons dangereuses) is an early French novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes in 1782. At the time of its publication novels were a new literary form, and Laclos chose to present his story in an epistolary style, composing the novel solely of a series of letters written by the major characters to each other. It was first translated into English in 1812 and has since become universally regarded as one the most significant early French novels.The story is framed around the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, two narcissistic French aristocrats and rivals who enjoy games of seduction and manipulation, and who most especially enjoy one-upping each other. The letters they send to each other portray an interconnected web of seduction, revenge, and malice, and are interspersed with the more innocent letters of their victims.Dangerous Liaisons has often been seen as a depiction of the corruption and depravity of the French nobility shortly before the French Revolution, thereby making a negative statement about the Ancien Régime. But it¿s also a depiction of the timeless problems surrounding sex and love, and a realistic portrayal of desires that are often beyond our control. As Laclos enjoyed the patronage of Louis Philippe II, the Duke of Orléans, and as other royalist and conservative figures like Queen Marie Antoinette enjoyed the book, it¿s likely it wasn¿t seen as a morality tale until after the French Revolution.

Ya ves, mi buena amiga, que cumplo mi palabra y que los gorros y los perifollos no llenan todo mi tiempo; siempre me quedará un ratito para ti. Sin embargo, he visto sólo en este día más atavíos que en los cuatro años que hemos pasado juntas; y creo la orgullosa Tanville tendrá más pesar cuando haga yo mi primera visita, en que me propongo pedir el verla, que el que ha creído darnos ella siempre que ha venido a vernos in fiocchi. Madre me ha consultado sobre todo; me trata mucho menos como educanda que antes; tengo una doncella a mi servicio, un gabinete y una pieza de que dispongo, y te escribo en una papelera muy bonita, de la cual tengo la llave y en la que puedo encerrar cuanto quiera. Me ha dicho mi madre que la veré todos los días cuando se levante; que bastará que esté peinada para comer, porque estaremos siempre solas, y que entonces me dirá a qué horas deberé pasar a verla después de mediodía. El tiempo restante queda a mi disposición, y tengo mi arpa, mi dibujo, y libros como en el convento, con la diferencia de que ahora no viene a reñirme la madre Perpetua, y que podría yo, si quisiese, estarme mano sobre mano; pero como no tengo conmigo a mi Sofía para hablar con ella y reír, es que tanto procuro ocuparme en algo.

Dangerous Liaisons was an immediate success when it was first published in 1782, and has since inspired a large number of literary commentaries, plays, and films.

A novel that depicts the foibles of the French aristocracy on the eve of the French Revolution.

Une histoire choquante de la manipulation et de vengeance, Les Liaisons Dangereuses suit les schémas de la marquise du Merteuil contre son ancien amant, le vicomte de Valmont. La paire d'aristocrates vie pour la suprématie dans la manipulation des autres; employant la séduction et de tentation que leurs armes, leur est de déshonorer les autres dans les yeux de la classe supérieure de la société française. Pour sa part, Merteuil est déterminé à ternir la réputation de la jeune Cécile, qui a jusqu'ici mené une vie pure dans un couvent. Les deux Cécile et son intérêt pour l'amour, la musique précepteur Chevalier Danceny, sont involontairement utilisés dans les régimes cruels de Merteuil et Valmont. Ce qui suit est une histoire de tension remplie d'amoralité, la tromperie, la jalousie et la honte. L'histoire est entièrement racontée à travers des correspondances entre les personnages, de sorte que le récit et les événements se déroulent.

The complex moral ambiguities of seduction and revenge make Les Liaisons dangereuses (1782) one of the most scandalous and controversial novels in European literature. The subject of major film and stage adaptations, the novel's prime movers, the Vicomte de Valmont and the Marquise de Merteuil, form an unholy alliance and turn seduction into a game - a game which they must win. This new translation gives Laclos a modern voice, and readers will be able a judge whether the novel is as `diabolical' and `infamous' as its critics have claimed, or whether it has much to tell us about the kind of world we ourselves live in. David Coward's introduction explodes myths about Laclos's own life and puts the book in its literary and cultural context.