Released in France anonymously in 1678, The Princess of Cleves is a terse, fictional account of unconsummated love set in the court of Henri II. Regarded as a pivotal piece in the history of women’s writing, this tragic tale sees the life squeezed painfully out of the young, female protagonist as she struggles to abide by confusing moral mores amidst a world of complex, amorous intrigues and the fierce grip of her own—disastrous—passion.
