Two rivals in pleasure make a wager with lives as the stakes. The Marquise de Merteuil, a widow of flawless reputation and ruthless wit, proposes a game to her former lover, the Vicomte de Valmont: corrupt a young convent girl on the eve of her marriage. But Valmont has a more divine prey in view — Madame de Tourvel, a beautiful, devout wife celebrated for her virtue. What begins as a duel of letters becomes a destructive contest in seduction, cruelty, and revenge, as both players discover that no one wins a game of ruin. Acclaimed as one of the most piercing studies of manipulation ever written, this French masterpiece of 1782 is here retold in vivid, natural, present-day English that preserves every epigram, betrayal, and devastating twist of the original. A faithful modern retelling for today's readers. Part of Timeless Classics.
