Dangerous Liaisons

Dangerous Liaisons is a novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in 1782. Set among the refined but morally corrupt French aristocracy on the eve of the French Revolution, the novel is told entirely through letters, revealing a world where wit, manipulation, and seduction are weapons of social power. What unfolds is a chilling portrait of elegance masking cruelty, and intelligence turned toward calculated harm.

At the centre of the story are two former lovers: the Marquise de Merteuil, fiercely intelligent and ruthlessly self-controlled, and the Vicomte de Valmont, a notorious libertine who treats romance as a strategic conquest. Bound by rivalry as much as attraction, they conspire through correspondence to seduce, corrupt, and ultimately dominate those around them. Their schemes entangle the virtuous Madame de Tourvel, whose moral resolve is tested by Valmont’s calculated charm, and the innocent Cécile de Volanges, newly introduced to society and dangerously unprepared for its games.

As letters pass between conspirators and victims alike, Dangerous Liaisons exposes how reputation, power, and desire intersect within a rigid social order. Laclos uses the epistolary form to allow readers intimate access to private thoughts while revealing how easily truth can be shaped, concealed, or weaponised. Each character believes themselves in control, yet the accumulating consequences of deceit begin to spiral beyond intention.

Now regarded as a masterpiece of French literature, Dangerous Liaisons is both a psychological study and a social critique, exploring manipulation, morality, and the performative nature of virtue. Laclos, a military officer rather than a professional novelist, produced a work that scandalised its contemporaries and continues to resonate for its sharp insight into human behaviour, toxic relationships, and the dark side of intelligence unrestrained by conscience.

This translation by Thomas Moore was first published in 1812.