Stendhal

Stendhal (Marie Henri Beyle; 1783–1842), French pioneer of the psychological novel. The Red and the Black (1831) and The Charterhouse of Parma (1839) explore the search for happiness through love and political power, with minute analysis of the heroes' feelings. His treatment of the figure of the “outsider,” his social criticism, and brilliant ironic prose style make him one of the greatest and most “modern” of French novelists.