司湯達（1783年-1842年）是十九世紀法國傑齣的批判現實主義作傢。他的一生並不長，不到六十年，而且他在文學上起步很晚，三十幾歲纔開始發錶作品。然而，他卻給人類留下瞭巨大的精神遺産，包括數部長篇，數十個短篇或故事，數百萬字的文論、隨筆和散文，遊記。 他以準確的人物心理分析和凝練的筆法而聞名。他被認為是最重要和最早的現實主義的實踐者之一。最有名的作品是《紅與黑》（1830）和《巴馬修道院》（1839）。

The Red and the Black , by Stendhal , is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics :

All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influencesbiographical, historical, and literaryto enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. 0in 0in 0pt">After Napoleon’s defeat, the French aristocracy tried to reassert its power in a government known as the Restoration. Venal and corrupt, the Restoration fell in 1830. Later that year, Stendhal published his scathing satire of Restoration society, The Red and the Black . Its title refers to the military and the clergy, the two career paths open to young men of intelligence and ambition but no social standing.Stendhal’s hero, Julien Sorel, is such a young man. A seminary student, he is nevertheless an admirer of Napoleon, and dreams of military glory. When he is hired to tutor the mayor’s children, he quickly seduces the mayor’s wife, then moves on to Paris where he conquers a nobleman’s daughter. Sorel comes to believe that the secret of success is to outperform the hypocrites and vicious opportunists who surround himand he’s right. But when the rich and powerful he so admires align against him, his downfall becomes unavoidable.A master of characterization, Stendhal paints a fascinating, multi-layered portrait of Julien Sorel, who endures as one of literature’s most complex and surprisingly sympathetica would-be manipulator out of his depth in a sea of sharks. Bruce Robbins is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He is the author of Feeling Global: Internationalism in Distress , The Servant’s Hand: English Fiction from Below , and Secular Vocations: Intellectuals, Professionalism, Culture .