Stendhal's The Charterhouse of Parma is one of the masterpieces of nineteenth-century fiction, a novel of passion, intrigue, and political cynicism set in early 1800s Italy. The protagonist, Fabrice del Dongo, is a young aristocrat who idolizes Napoleon, fights at Waterloo without quite understanding the battle, and returns to Italy to navigate the corrupt court of Parma. The novel traces Fabrice's romantic entanglements, his aunt Gina's passionate machinations on his behalf, and the worldly cynicism of Count Mosca, who loves Gina while serving a petty tyrant. Stendhal, whose real name was Marie-Henri Beyle, wrote the novel in fifty-two days, and its improvisatory energy is part of its charm. The characterization is brilliant, particularly of Gina, one of literature's great female figures, who is allowed intelligence, desire, and moral complexity. The novel satirizes Italian politics while remaining sympathetic to its characters' aspirations. Balzac declared it the greatest novel he had ever read. Stendhal's influence extends through Tolstoy (who drew on Waterloo for War and Peace) to modern fiction. This edition, translated by John Sturrock, renders Stendhal's prose into fluid English. Essential reading for anyone interested in the European novel or the Napoleonic era.