Editors Reads Verdict
Stendhal's most exuberant novel — written in fifty-two days, it has the speed and vitality of improvisation. The Waterloo episode, where Fabrizio understands nothing of the battle he is in, was the passage Tolstoy admired when writing his own battle scenes.
What We Loved
- The Waterloo episode — Fabrizio in the middle of the battle without understanding it — is one of the greatest battle scenes in literature
- The energy and speed of the narrative — written in fifty-two days — gives the novel an improvised vitality unusual in nineteenth-century fiction
- The Duchess Sanseverina is one of the century's great female characters — intelligence, passion, and ruthlessness in equal measure
Minor Drawbacks
- The plot is deliberately picaresque — coherence is not the point, which frustrates readers who want tight structure
- The ending is rushed — Stendhal compressed the final section because the novel was running too long
Key Takeaways
- → The Waterloo episode is a deliberate anti-epic — Fabrizio sees confusion, mud, noise, and death, and cannot identify which battle it is
- → Stendhal's Italy is a place where passion and intrigue operate without English or French moral self-censorship — the Italian characters feel and act with a directness his French characters cannot
- → The Chartreuse (Charterhouse) of the title appears only at the end — Fabrizio's retirement to a monastery is the conventional ending made to seem absurd by the energy of everything that precedes it
| Author | Stendhal |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Penguin Classics |
| Pages | 512 |
| Published | January 1, 1839 |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Classic, Literary Fiction |
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
| Best For | Readers who enjoyed The Red and the Black — Stendhal's other major novel, more exuberant and less analytical. |
The Battle
Fabrizio del Dongo is sixteen and passionate about Napoleon. When the Hundred Days begins, he crosses into France to fight for the Emperor. He reaches the battlefield of Waterloo on the day of the battle. He finds confusion, noise, mud, dead horses, men running in both directions. He follows a marshal’s staff. He never understands what battle he is in, or whether Napoleon won or lost.
Stendhal’s Waterloo episode is the model for all subsequent anti-epic battle scenes — the battle seen not from a general’s perspective but from the perspective of one confused individual at ground level. Tolstoy acknowledged it directly when writing the battle scenes of War and Peace.
The Duchess
The Duchess Sanseverina — Gina, Fabrizio’s aunt — is the novel’s centre of energy. She loves Fabrizio (whether romantically or not is deliberately left ambiguous), manages the political intrigues of the Parma court with complete intelligence, and is capable of both extraordinary generosity and cold ruthlessness. Stendhal wrote her in a state of exhilaration that shows in every scene she inhabits.
Our rating: 4.2/5 — Stendhal’s exuberant other masterpiece — Waterloo, court intrigue, and the Duchess, at full speed.
Reading Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "The Charterhouse of Parma" about?
Fabrizio del Dongo, a young Italian nobleman, wanders onto the field of Waterloo (without understanding what is happening), flees various entanglements, falls in love with the actress Marietta, and becomes caught in the political intrigues of the court of Parma, where his aunt, the Duchess Sanseverina, rules through her relationship with the Count.
Who should read "The Charterhouse of Parma"?
Readers who enjoyed The Red and the Black — Stendhal's other major novel, more exuberant and less analytical.
What are the key takeaways from "The Charterhouse of Parma"?
The Waterloo episode is a deliberate anti-epic — Fabrizio sees confusion, mud, noise, and death, and cannot identify which battle it is Stendhal's Italy is a place where passion and intrigue operate without English or French moral self-censorship — the Italian characters feel and act with a directness his French characters cannot The Chartreuse (Charterhouse) of the title appears only at the end — Fabrizio's retirement to a monastery is the conventional ending made to seem absurd by the energy of everything that precedes it
Is "The Charterhouse of Parma" worth reading?
Stendhal's most exuberant novel — written in fifty-two days, it has the speed and vitality of improvisation. The Waterloo episode, where Fabrizio understands nothing of the battle he is in, was the passage Tolstoy admired when writing his own battle scenes.
Ready to Read The Charterhouse of Parma?
Check the current price on Amazon.
Check Price on Amazon (paid link)Prices and availability are subject to change. See Amazon for current price.
Review last updated: