Lion for Love

Robert Alter is Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of numerous critical works, including the prize-winning The Art of Biblical Narrative.

• * Preface * Roman Prelude Part One: the Young Man from the Provinces * Grenoble (Aetat. 1-16) * Paris (Aetat. 16-17) * Italy (Aetat. 17-18) * Return To Paris (Aetat. 19-22) Part Two: The Initiate * Marseilles (Aetat. 22-23) * Prussia and Paris (Aetat. 23-28) * Milan (Aetat. 28-29) * Moscow to Milan (Aetat. 29-31) Part Three: The Free Lance * Milan (Aetat. 31-38) * Paris (Aetat. 38-44) * The End of the Paris Years (Aetat. 44-47) Part Four: The Consul * Civiatavecchia (Aetat. 48-53) * Paris (Aetat. 53-55) * Civiatavecchia and Paris (Aetat. 56-59) * Index * Illustrations

This excellent short biography…brings out both the charms and the complexities of Stendhal. The tone of the book is discreetly admiring, but ironic enough when need be to remind one of the saving and consummate irony of its subject.