The Red and the Black
The Red and the Black is a novel by the French writer Stendhal and published in mid-November 1831.
The plot revolves around the ambition of young Julien Sorel, in France in the late 1820s, to raise his social class and flee the poverty into which he was born. Julien Sorel is the son of a carpenter in a small town and tries to persuade the people by telling them what they want to hear and fulfilling their wishes. The story is divided into two parts.
The name of the book refers to two parts of society: red refers to the color of the army uniform and black to the priest's toga.
The book is one of the masterpieces of French literature and is one of the examples of a psychological novel. Among others, it influenced Leo Tolstoy and William Somerset Maugham.
In 1864 the work was prohibited by the Catholic Church, a condemnation that was withdrawn in 1900.
Horace B. Samuel's translation has been used for this digital edition of the book The Red and the Black.
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Public domain (US)·No sign-up·DRM-free·Real text, not scans
Copyright note. The Red and the Black by Stendhal is believed to be in the public domain in the United States only. It may still be copyrighted in other countries. If you are not in the United States, please check your local laws to ensure this eBook is in the public domain in your country before downloading The Red and the Black in PDF or EPUB.
- Pages
- 520
- Reading time
- 16 hours 12 minutes
- Pace
- Intermediate
- First published
- 1830
- Language
- French
- Downloads
- 2,806
196 years later, still timely
Why Read The Red and the Black in 2026?
A brilliant striver tries to hack status with charm and nerve. Stendhal charts ambition without anesthesia.
Today's connection
Meritocracy, optics, and institutional gatekeeping still govern ascent. This novel reveals the psychology behind performance—and its cost.
Image as currency
Appearance purchases access.
Ethics of ascent
Ends meet means in court.
Desire directed
What goal is worth you?
These collections include The Red and the Black
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About the author
Stendhal
Speed irony and psychology; ambition measured against love and power.
If this one stays with you…
Les MisérablesVictor Hugo
The Age of InnocenceEdith Wharton
The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnMark Twain
The House of MirthEdith Wharton
From The Red and the Black
Things that to him seemed admirable were precisely those censured by the people around him. His silent response was always: “What monsters, what fools!” He was glad, and proud, that often he understood nothing they were talking about.
Exalted by a sentiment of which she was proud, and that overcame all her arrogance, she was reluctant to let a moment of her life go by without occupying it with some remarkable deed.
Love born in the brain is more spirited, doubtless, than true love, but it has only flashes of enthusiasm; it knows itself too well, it criticizes itself incessantly; so far from banishing thought, it is itself reared only upon a structure of thought.
Indeed, man has two different beings inside him. What devil thought of that malicious touch?
What is the use of a love that makes one yawn? One might as well take to religion