“Entering life at the French royal court, a world in which “what is shown is rarely the truth,” the young Princess of Clèves learns of passion’s torments, of heartbreak, and of the agony of love.”

At first it was the cover art that caught my attention of this graphic-novel. Reading the description sealed my fate to read this now then later and I absorbed this in one sitting. The graphic novel is a retelling from France’s first “modern” novel written by Madame De Lafayette in 1678. I was pleasantly surprised of how fast I got caught up in the life of Princess of Clèves and her unspoken, unrequited love that her mother tries to warn her against forcing the princess to hide. The bonus from the graphic adaptation was the insight on the creator, Madame De Lafayette. The graphic novel created a story within a story and I can’t wait to be able to read the original piece and to re-read this graphic retelling.
A great question on the back cover of the original text that caught my attention to purchase the novel is… “Am I to be loved by the most adorable woman in the world… only so that I may the more cruelly suffer the pain of her unkindness?”

Un classico è un'opera che, a distanza di anni, decenni, secoli, millenni, parla ancora a chi lo legge.

Parla per sé, parla grazie alle reinterpretazioni , alle trasposizioni, alle citazioni, in un rinfrescarsi sempre nuovo.

Sebbene non sempre queste operazioni riescano, posso invece dire che la resa in fumetto de La Principessa di Clèves, iconico romanzo del Seicento francese, non toglie niente all'originale: anzi, aggiunge la delicatezza di tavole che evocano con efficienza gli abiti della corte francese del '500, epoca in cui è ambientato.

Ed è una storia sempre attuale, sebbene adesso meno ci siano matrimoni combinati: ma l'amore scoperto in ritardo, e che nessuno è destinato a raggiungere - per dovere, decoro, affetto -, sempre inseguendo una persona che non si potrà ottenere pienamente, è vicenda universale.

Tanto di cappello, quindi, a questa sensibile reinterpretazione.

Had the translator note at the beginning of this graphic novel adaptation for Madame De La Fayette's <em>The Princess of Clèves</em> not suggested that this story was still relevant within modern audiences, I imagine I might have given it a little more leeway as far as the historical context goes. That being said, I did not like the story at all. While Catel and Claire Bouilhac's artwork did wonders for the portrayal of this rather tragic and scandalous tale, the overall plot of the story was one that I found quite awful.

Fortunately for this story, the artwork was equisite and very enjoyable to flip through. In fact, I consider the art the saving grace of the story as a whole.

<em>The Princess of Clèves</em> begins with a young woman outed in Parisian society whose beauty basically causes flocks of men from all over to fall heads over heels in love with her. This alone is frustrating and annoying to read in 2019, but I'll accept that it's a fair assumption for how men tend to act and the societal situation and expectations were far different back in the time period this is set in than it is today. The story progresses and the Princess is basically forced via societal pressure and the desires of her mother to see her wed to marry a man she feels literally nothing for.

This lack of ardor is something her husband regularly comments on throughout the course of the story whilst lamenting how much he loves her, yet he had the audacity to basically give her no choice in the union. His love for her as a result of her beauty was far more important to him than her true feelings as I suppose he merely expected that once they were wed she would love him by default. Her own mother even admits that while she may not feel for the man now, surely that will be something she'll develop after they are married.

And thus lies the pure toxicity of this graphic novel as a whole for as the story progresses, the Princess does one day meet a man for whom she feels such emotions. But as it is not her husband, whom again she was pressured into marrying, her response is to stifle those emotions, hide herself away from society and court to avoid this man, and even to beg her husband to assist her in keeping away from the very person she is certain she would feel tempted by should she be required to spend more time in his company.

And I just...what?

So, the basic premise of this novel is to say that this woman is virtuous and good because she does everything within her power to ignore her own feelings in favor of the extremely unfair expectations set upon her by the world and the stupid man she had the misfortune of being pressured into marrying. She lives a miserable life with a man she never wanted in the first place, feels guilty for having emotions for another man, and sequesters herself away for not only the duration of her marriage but even after her husband dies of an illness continually refusing to actually do anything for herself. Somehow, both she and her husband blame her feelings for this other man for his death. And so she proceeds to live out the rest of her life with unreasonable and ridiculous guilt that prevents her from ever feeling any sort of happiness in her life.

Perhaps, for its time period, this was a brilliant novel. And maybe I am missing something from the original by having only read the graphic novel version. But honestly? This story sucked. It was horrendously sexist, perhaps just as society was back then. But The Princess of Clèves wasn't a virtuous and good young woman, she was a victim of her world who was treated horribly and lived horribly as a result. Thanks, but I hate it.

<em>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em>

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An interesting story but not one for me. I did like the graphic art in this one but I just wasnt that interested in the story. This is my personal opinion. Other readers may enjoy the story.

Thanks net galley and the publisher for sending me this book to read in exchange for an honest review.
I don’t normally read that much about topics relating to Europe. So, when I saw that there was a graphic novel adaptation of the French novel, La Princesse de Clèves, I thought I should give it a chance. The story is about a young girl who after she marries the Prince de Clèves, starts to develop feelings for the Duke of Nemours.
Even though it was entirely different that anything I might read, overall, I did enjoy it. The only thing that I didn’t enjoy that much were the time skips. There would be times where I wouldn’t notice that a certain amount of time had passed. But other than that, everything else was alright. Such as the artwork which was so simple and beautiful. The writing as well flowed together so perfectly that it did make it an enjoyable read.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this book to read.

I have really been into graphic novels of late so when Netgalley sent this one to me I was excited, overall though the book just wasn't for me, I enjoyed the style and the story but for me it is one that just didn't transfer to graphic novel well.

The art is so lovely and flowy like writing and really know that was a plus for me and it was easy to read (sometime the formatting isn't but with this one it was a breeze)

First line: My dear Francois, I have finally yielded to your arguments.

Summary: The classic tale of The Princess of Cleves is told in graphic novel format for a new generation. Mademoiselle de Chartres comes to the French court with her mother in order to find her a husband. After taking her mother’s advice she marries a man with a title. However, after the marriage she meets the Duke de Nemours who she falls in love with. But then scandal reaches the court and entwines the two lovers.

My Thoughts: Graphic novels are definitely becoming something I enjoy more with each one. I still struggle with looking at the pictures while I am reading the dialogue. This one was easier to get lost in the art. It was beautifully done. The people looked realistic and the details were gorgeous. I loved looking at each page and seeing the little tidbits that the artist added to give more to the story. Supposedly this is a precursor to the psychological thriller but I do not really see that but it was a good story nonetheless. I had never heard of it or its author but I am happy I stumbled across it on Netgalley.

FYI: This is a graphic novel.

⭐️⭐️ 2 Stars

A graphic novel with a good art style, but with lacklustre storytelling and too many time skips to be a coherent read.

This is a good way to introduce the historical figures to younger readers but this is in no way comprehensive or completely historically accurate.

I received an advance review copy for free via NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A graphic novel of the famous book by Madame de la Fayette's. 
Because I have read this book, I found the story moved very quickly but was able to follow. But if you have not read the book, you are obviously going to miss out on a lot of the story.

Great illustrations, the little black cat that followed the Princess of Cleves around was my favorite. 

I love graphic novels based on classic literature, I just wish there was a little more to this one.

Well, I have to say the moment I saw this book I thought that it would be about Anne of Cleves a.k.a. the luckiest wife of Henry VIII.

I never heard about the book The Princess of Clèves before, so, I was in for a surprise.

As for this comics, it was very well done. I liked the art, the muted colours which I felt fitted it very well. The storyline was simple, but I was interested in seeing where it was going.

However, me being me, I have some issues with it. I suppose the story took several years, but the characters kept wearing the same clothing! (Okay, sometimes the main character changed the colour of her dress, but it still felt like the same dress. I'm here for the dresses!)
It may be because it was supposed to help you to tell the characters apart and I can get that because I kept confusing the husband and the uncle of the main character plus another guy was pretty similar but he disappeared pretty quickly from the story.
But the unchanged dresses were bugging me!
I'm not sure how much time has passed, it started in winter 1558, Henry II of France died in July 1559 which is like 2/3 into the story. So, it may be two years or so.
Then, some dialogues were a bit tedious, spreading over several pages, and I had to skip them cause I could not do with the pathos.

But overall, I did enjoy it, it was a fun evening reading this, and I think I may even have a look at the original book!

Overall, I would say 3,5 stars. 👗👗👗

Do you love courtly love, and court intrigue. Do you love seeing a bunch of rich people go on and on about who loves who and who is banging who? Do you enjoy seeing women being a commodity to be married off so that families can have alliances?

Great, then this book is definitely for you.

But if you get tired of this mess, of all these rich people with nothing better to do than have balls, and expensive houses and hunting estates, then, this book will make you so bored.

I get that this is supposed to appeal to those who like to see how the rich live, but all I can think, as I read this, is how the poor are surviving, while these rich people go off to their country estates. And how the poor princess of cleves is constantly in a state of depression because she does not love her husband and is attracted to another.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

This was quite the graphic novel. Steeped in the intrigue surrounding the French royal court and the romances and affairs that happened behind the scenes. This graphic novel follows a beautiful woman who marries the first man who sees her, and then she comes to develop strong romantic feelings for a handsome young man who is not her husband. This is quite the long historical graphic novel, which is appropriate in a sense because I cannot imagine it any differently.

4/5.

Thanks to Netgalley for an eArc of this book.

The Princess of Cleves is a graphic retelling of Le Princesse de Cleves that provides entertainment, court intrigue, and plays with your emotions all at the same time. It features the story of a young beautiful girl who goes to court with her mother- only to find herself quickly matched with the Prince of Cleves. It's a loveless match on her side, but she vows to be a good wife-- only to find herself falling in love with another man, the Duke of Nemours. He loves her too-- but following her dying mother's advice, she stays true to her husband, at the cost of her own heart.

I must admit, I've never read the original Le Princesse de Cleves. However, I have had a recent fascination with the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots- and the cover art proved alluring, so I reached for The Princess of Cleves. While I haven't read the original, from what I can tell, this is a fairly accurate retelling of the original story- with the addition of brief comics before and after representing the Madame de La Fayette in regards to before and after the book's success. In this, we can draw parallels between the Madame's history- as well as appreciate the differing art-styles, done by Catel Muller for the prologue and epilogue, and Claire Bouilhac for the illustration of The Princess of Cleves. I must also applaud the translation work done in this-- I couldn't tell upon reading it that it did not originate in English, and the translator's done a masterful job at keeping the speech court and period-appropriate, while still understandable for new readers.

While I can't give the creators of this graphic novel the credit for creating such a tale- the original prologue and epilogue bring extra detail to the story, becoming not just the Princess's story-- but the story of Madame De La Fayette as well. It's a masterful retelling, the art does the story well, and it shares a timeless tale to those that may prefer graphic novels to the original textual format, which is by now over 300 years old. And in French.

I received a PDF of this graphic novel in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This comic is faithfully based on a very old novel and the story line will inevitably sound distant if not unrealistic to modern ears. Add to that an art that is not exactly flattering to the characters if not downright flat, it will take a very discerning reader to appreciate this book. In short, not for the mass market.

Very good rendering of Madame de la Fayette's famous novel, with nice graphics. I am sure that it will inspire its readers to read the novel too.

Well-researched graphic novel, with great artwork style and interesting pacing of the story; a literary gem.

Court drama in the form of a book told in a comic novel is a new one for me but I really enjoyed The Princess Of Cleves! The art is beautiful and if you like French court history then you'll really enjoy this.
It's a short and pleasent read with beautiful illustrations and a good story to tell.