Shoderlo de Laklo

Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos was a French political and military figure who became famous for his novel Dangerous Liaisons (Les Liaisons dangereuses).

He was born on 18 October 1741 in Amiens, into the family of an official—a poor nobleman. His nobility was not ancestral but granted by a royal patent. Lacking both distinguished birth and wealth, he could pursue a career only in the military sphere, which he did. After graduating from artillery school in 1763 with the rank of lieutenant, he was assigned to the garrison at Toul and served in military garrisons.

Alongside his military service, he also found time for literary pursuits. Choderlos de Laclos was not a professional writer, but his experience in military life enabled him to portray people vividly and realistically. Through his works, Laclos earned a scandalous reputation, in a sense standing alongside, for example, the Marquis de Sade; however, his novel Dangerous Liaisons brought him worldwide fame.

Laclos won fame with his celebrated novel of social manners, Dangerous Liaisons (Les liaisons dangereuses, Amsterdam and Paris, 1782), one of the most notable prose works of the eighteenth century. The novel was an immediate success. Within one month, its print run of two thousand copies was completely sold out, requiring an immediate reprint.

In addition to the two authorized editions, some 50 pirated editions appeared during 1782 and 1783 alone. The name of Choderlos de Laclos became famous; his novel passed from hand to hand and was read avidly. Traditional in form, written in the frivolous spirit characteristic of the time, and ending with the inevitable punishment of vice, Dangerous Liaisons in fact presents a profound and sharp satire on the way of life of the French aristocracy. His satire against the Comtesse du Barry, Une épître à Margot, was popular in its day.

The Revolution that followed drew Laclos, who had so clearly defined his sympathies in Dangerous Liaisons Show full Collapse