Les Liaisons dangereuses <!-- Before changing title capitalisation, please see discussion on the talk page --> (; English: Dangerous Liaisons) is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu on 23 March 1782. It was initially translated into English in 1812 and has since been widely recognized as one of the most important early French novels. It is also considered one of the earliest and most famous examples of a roman à clef, written by Laclos as a thinly disguised takedown of the French aristocracy.

It is the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, two amoral lovers-turned-rivals who amuse themselves by ruining others and who ultimately destroy each other.

It has been seen as depicting the corruption and depravity of the French nobility shortly before the French Revolution, and thereby attacking the Ancien Régime despite having been written nearly a decade prior to those events. The author aspired to "write a work which departed from the ordinary, which made a noise, and which would remain on earth after his death".

As an epistolary novel, the book is composed of letters written by the various characters to each other. In particular, the letters between Valmont and the Marquise make up the majority of the plot, along with those of Cécile de Volanges and Madame de Tourvel.

It has been adapted multiple times, including the successful 1985 play and subsequent award-winning 1988 film adaptation.

Plot summary

The Marquise de Merteuil is determined to corrupt the young Cécile de Volanges, whose mother has only recently brought her out of a convent to be married to Merteuil's previous lover, who has discarded her rudely. At the same time the notorious Vicomte de Valmont is determined to seduce the virtuous, married, and therefore inaccessible Madame de Tourvel, who is staying with his aunt while her husband is away on a court case. Cécile falls in love with the Chevalier Danceny (her young music tutor), and Merteuil and Valmont pretend to help the secret lovers in order to gain their trust and manipulate them later to benefit their own schemes.

thumb|Illustration by [[Jean-Honoré Fragonard|Fragonard for Letter XLIV, 1796]]

Merteuil first suggests that the Vicomte should seduce Cécile in order to enact her revenge on Cécile's future husband but Valmont refuses, finding the challenge too easy and preferring to devote himself to seducing Madame de Tourvel. He is however interested in resuming their affair. Merteuil promises Valmont that if he seduces Madame de Tourvel and provides her with written proof of seduction, she will spend the night with him.

Valmont befriends Tourvel by convincing her that he has changed his rakish ways and become a virtuous man, but he finds seducing her to be a far greater challenge than his previous conquests.

Valmont is infuriated on discovering that Cécile's mother has written to Madame de Tourvel to warn her about his bad character. He avenges himself by seducing and raping Cécile as Merteuil had suggested. Meanwhile, Merteuil takes Danceny as her lover.

By the time Valmont has succeeded in seducing Madame de Tourvel, he seems to have fallen in love with her. Jealous, Merteuil tricks him into deserting Madame de Tourvel, and reneges on her promise of spending the night with him. In retaliation, Valmont reveals that he prompted Danceny to reunite with Cécile, leaving Merteuil abandoned yet again. Merteuil declares war on Valmont and reveals to Danceny that Valmont has seduced Cécile.

Danceny and Valmont duel, and Valmont is fatally wounded. Before he dies, he gives Danceny the letters proving Merteuil's own involvement. These letters are sufficient to ruin her reputation, and she flees to the countryside, after contracting smallpox. Her face is left permanently scarred and she is rendered blind in one eye. She loses her greatest asset, her beauty, as well as her reputation and much of her fortune. Desperate with guilt and grief, Madame de Tourvel succumbs to a fever and dies, while Cécile returns to the convent, dishonoured.

Characters

; Correspondents

  • Madame de Volanges
  • Cécile de Volanges
  • Marquise de Merteuil
  • Vicomte de Valmont
  • Madame de Tourvel
  • Chevalier Danceny
  • Comte de Gercourt
  • Father Anselme, priest of the Feuillant Convent
  • Monsieur Bertrand, Valmont's steward

; Referred to or quoted:

  • Président de Tourvel
  • Sophie Carnay, Cécile's convent friend
  • Joséphine, portress of the convent
  • Roux Azolan, Valmont's huntsman
  • Julie, Tourvel's maid
  • Victoire, Merteuil's maid
  • Madame de Rosemonde, Valmont's aunt
  • Émilie, courtesan and mistress of Valmont
  • Chevalier de Belleroche, Merteuil's lover
  • Prévan, military officer and roué

Literary significance and criticism

Les Liaisons dangereuses is celebrated for its exploration of seduction, revenge and malice, presented in the form of fictional letters collected and published by a fictional author. The book was viewed as scandalous at the time of its publication, though the real intentions of the author remain unknown. It has been suggested that Laclos's intention was the same as that of his fictional author in the novel; to write a morality tale about the French nobility of the Ancien Régime. The theory has been questioned on several grounds; Laclos enjoyed the patronage of France's most senior aristocrat—Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans. All the characters in the story are aristocrats, including the virtuous ones like Madame de Tourvel and Madame de Rosemonde and many royalist and conservative figures enjoyed the book, including Queen Marie Antoinette, which suggests that—despite its scandalous reputation—it was not viewed as a political work until the French Revolution made it appear as such, with the benefit of hindsight.

Wayland Young notes that most critics have viewed the work as

He argues that