Cover of The Red and the Black

The Red and the Black

Stendhal, 1830

French novelist, 1783–1842.

The Red and the Black is an 1830 novel by Stendhal, translated from French.

Essential
  • Critics' Darling

On 3 of the 10 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Stendhal
First published
1830
Length
608 pages (UK paperback)
Original language
Translated from French
Genre
Literary fiction, Class and society, Political, Love story

Is The Red and the Black worth reading?

3 of the 10 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them 100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph) and Bokklubben World Library (Norwegian Book Clubs).

ListPlaceOriginal
100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph, 2009)No. 85See the list
Bokklubben World Library (Norwegian Book Clubs, 2002)ListedSee the list
Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026)No. 80See the list

Best edition of The Red and the Black

The edition we link to is the Penguin Classics paperback (2002), 608 pages.

Publisher
Penguin Classics (paperback, 2002)
Pages
608
ISBN
9780140447644

How critics and readers rate The Red and the Black

Critics rate it most highly: it earned 42% of the points available on critics' lists, against 15% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
42%
Prizes
Not eligible for any of these lists yet
Readers and booksellers
15%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like The Red and the Black

If you liked The Red and the Black, try Pride and Prejudice, Middlemarch or Jane Eyre.

Lists used on this page