Trois Femmes by
In the aftermath of the French Revolution, three women who have fled France--the straitlaced aristocrat Emilie, her lighthearted maid Joséphine, and the worldly Constance--try to make new lives for themselves in Altendorf, Germany. Their experiences, difficulties, and choices address the philosophical question, Are moral theories adequate guides to good conduct? In her introduction to this late-eighteenth-century novel by Charrière, Emma Rooksby discusses the sentimental tradition, Enlightenment ideas, epistolary fiction, Charrière's career, and the difficult situation of women and women writers in postrevolutionary France.
L' Amant by
Original French language edition of "L'amant."
La Place by
A fragmented and largely retrospective description of a daughter's relationship with her father, "La Place" deals with issues of sexuality, social sta nding and alienation. This will be an accessible and exciting addition to French studies courses.
Petit Pays by 
Lettres d'Une Péruvienne by
One of the most popular works of the eighteenth century, Lettres d'une Péruvienne appeared in more than 130 editions, reprints, and translations during the hundred years following its publi cation in 1747. In the novel the Inca princess Zilia is kidnapped by Spanish conquerors, captured by the French after a battle at sea, and taken to Europe. Graffigny's brilliant novel offered a bold critique of French society, delivered one of the most vehement feminist protests in eighteenth-century literature, and announced--fourteen years before Rousseau's Julie, or the New Eloise--the Romantic tradition in French literature.