*The Telegraph takes up from where The Green Huntsman * left off with the career of Lucien Leuwen, the fashionable young cavalry officer with "republican" leanings but aristocratic tastes. When his father, an influential banker, places him in a government office, Lucien is quickly involved...

*The Telegraph takes up from where The Green Huntsman * left off with the career of Lucien Leuwen, the fashionable young cavalry officer with "republican" leanings but aristocratic tastes. When his father, an influential banker, places him in a government office, Lucien is quickly involved in a series of intrigues. He is required to assist in the suppression of a murder, fix a provincial election, and to advance the interest of his father's cabal, carry on a cold-blooded love affair with the most beautiful hostess in Paris. Through Lucien's eyes, Stendhal uncovers the moral decay of a society in which a failing government keeps itself in power by force and trickery.