Manon Lescaut

Author: Abbe Prevost

Translator: Steve Larkin  

Reviews

Manon is the perfidious object of the Chevalier des Grieux's affections. She betrays him; his love for her threatens his every moral tenet, yet he clings to a belief in the redemptive power of love. Manon Lescaut is both operatic high tragedy and picaresque adventure. As Larkin's introduction emphasises, the ambiguity of the Jesuitical Des Grieux means that this love is far from innocent, and an enduring puzzle.

Isobel Montgomery in The Guardian

The tragic love story Manon Lescaut has been the model for operas (by Puccini, Massenet and Henze) and films for years. This French classic by Abbe Prevost, retranslated for the first time in 52 years by Steve Larkin, shows remarkable resiliency more than 200 years after its original publication. Set in Paris and Louisiana around 1720, it is the archetypal 18th - century romance, with the noble des Grieux as devoted lover and the worldly Manon as inconstant mistress.

Publisher's Weekly