Sometimes this novel is called a chronicle of the XIX century. The epic story reveals the tragic story of Julien Sorel, "in whose soul there is a struggle between natural nobility and dangerous ghosts of ambition." Through the prism of the hero's life, Stendhal simultaneously depicts three social strata of French society after the revolution of 1793: the bourgeoisie, the clergy, and the nobility.

(1783 - 1842) . « ».