Dangerous Liaisons

Dangerous Liaisons, published in 1782, is an epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos that exposes the decadence and moral corruption of the French aristocracy. Through a series of letters, the cunning Marquise de Merteuil and the manipulative Vicomte de Valmont play cruel games of seduction and revenge, ruining the lives of their victims. The novel explores themes of power, gender, manipulation, and the consequences of amorality. Its provocative content and psychological complexity make it one of the most influential works of French literature and a forerunner of modern psychological fiction.