Sign-In
Cart
Manon Lescaut: L'Histoire Du Chevalier Des Grieux Et de Manon Lescaut
Paperback
RomanceClassic FictionGeneral Fiction
ISBN13: 9781523671915
Publisher: Createspace
Published: Jan 24 2016
Pages: 126
Weight: 0.51
Height: 0.27 Width: 7.01 Depth: 10.00
Language: English
Manon Lescaut
A Short Novel
L'Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut
FULL ENGLISH TRANSLATION
by Abbé Prévost
Translated by L W Tancock
Manon Lescaut (L'Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut) is a short novel by French author Abbé Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité (Memoirs and Adventures of a Man of Quality). It was controversial in its time and was banned in France upon publication. Despite this, it became very popular and pirated editions were widely distributed. In a subsequent 1753 edition, the Abbé Prévost toned down some scandalous details and injected more moralizing disclaimers.
Set in France and Louisiana in the early 18th century, the story follows the hero, the Chevalier des Grieux, and his lover, Manon Lescaut. Des Grieux comes from noble and landed family, but forfeits his hereditary wealth and incurs the disappointment of his father by running away with Manon. In Paris, the young lovers enjoy a blissful cohabitation, while Des Grieux struggles to satisfy Manon's taste for luxury. He scrounges together money by borrowing from his unwaveringly loyal friend Tiberge and from cheating gamblers. On several occasions, Des Grieux's wealth evaporates (by theft, in a house fire, etc.), prompting Manon to leave him for a richer man because she cannot stand the thought of living in penury.
The two lovers finally end up in New Orleans, to which Manon has been deported as a prostitute, where they pretend to be married and live in idyllic peace for a while. But when Des Grieux reveals their unmarried state to the Governor and asks to be wed with Manon, the Governor's nephew sets his sights on winning Manon's hand. In despair, Des Grieux challenges the Governor's nephew to a duel and knocks him unconscious. Thinking he had killed the man and fearing retribution, the couple flee New Orleans and venture into the wilderness of Louisiana, hoping to reach an English settlement. Manon dies of exposure and exhaustion the following morning and, after burying his beloved, Des Grieux is eventually taken back to France by Tiberge.
13 different editions
Also available
Also in
Classic Fiction
James Fenimore Cooper: The Leatherstocking Tales Vol. 1 (Loa #26): The Pioneers / The Last of the Mohicans / The Prairie
Cooper, James Fenimore
Hardcover
Four Comedies: The Taming of the Shrew, a Midsummer Night's Dream, the Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night
Shakespeare, William
Paperback
Before Gatsby: The First Twenty-Six Stories
Baughman, Judith
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Bruccoli, Matthew J.
Paperback
The Princess Bride Deluxe Limited Edition: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
Goldman, William
Paperback
The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of the Lord of the Rings
Tolkien, J. R. R.
Paperback
The Lord of the Rings Illustrated by the Author: Illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien
Tolkien, J. R. R.
Hardcover
The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
Goldman, William
Hardcover
The Pilgrim's Progress: A Readable Modern-Day Version of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (Revised and easy-to-read)
Vermilye, Alan
Bunyan, John
Paperback
Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Stoker, Bram
Shelley, Mary
Stevenson, Robert Louis
Paperback