What is Dangerous Liaisons Daily?
Dangerous Liaisons (in french: Les Liaisons dangereuses) is an epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos published in 1782. Dangerous Liaisons Daily is a way for you to experience this story as it happens, as if the characters’ servants knocked at your door to deliver you a note from their masters. If you already read the book, this will be a totally new experience for you. If you haven’t, well, you’re in for a treat!
If you subscribe, you’ll get in your inbox, everyday, the letters that were sent on that day (time zone CEST). Please note that it’s happening in real time, so you will indeed sometimes receive several letters a day, since more than one character can write on the same day. If the number of letters is too important, I’ll put a disclaimer in the first email of the day - I don’t want this reading to become a burden, open the letters at your own pace :)
The first letter will be sent on August 3rd and the last letter on January 14th.
The concept was borrowed from Dracula Daily.
Please check your spam folder or the promotions tab of your email if you can’t find the letters.
That’s fine and all, but what is Dangerous Liaisons precisely about?
Dangerous Liaisons is an intricate net of correspondences detailing the seduction schemes of the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, somewhere during the XVIIIth century. They are both friends and rivals in manipulation. The base plot is that Merteuil wishes Valmont to seduce young Cécile Volanges, so she can take revenge on M. de Gercourt - to whom Cécile is to be wed. Except that… Valmont is too busy trying to get Mme de Tourvel, a devout catholic, for himself. From there, it goes worse for everyone involved, as Merteuil and Valmont deploy all the strategies you can expect from master manipulators - and maybe they’re also a little bit too much into sex revenge…
The book was, of course, considered offensive, libertin, and was massively criticized when it was first published. It was buried for a while, very very deep, since it was one of the dirty little secrets of french literature. It’s a satire, it depicts an immoral society, the debauchery of the nobility, and the terrible fact that you can’t just escape this world that easily. All of that with a grim sense of humor.
Warnings
One of the major plotpoints is the grooming of a teenage girl. If the summary wasn’t proof enough, the book is heavily about manipulation, contains lots of gaslighting, depicts toxic relationships, etc. Sexual double-entendres are all over the place. There are also a few graphic scenes, including two rape scenes. If that makes you uncomfortable or could trigger you in any way you should probably not read it. Warnings will be issued to you in the emails subject line when necessary.
What translation did you use?
Ernest Dowson’s translation. He translated the book in the 1890s. His works have the advantage of being in the public domain. And, also, his translation is incredibly elegant and fluid, to the point you don’t feel like it’s a translation at all. It’s very close to the original’s spirit. Note that it’s a purely subjective choice, I am a french native speaker, I am not an expert translator, I do not even consider myself bilingual.
Update: someone set up a newsletter for the original text! If you want to read Dangerous Liaisons in french, visit Les Chroniques de Choderlos and subscribe! Note that me and Pauline (the person behind it) worked independently even though we exchanged a few emails! (she partially reused my about page hence the similarities but we are indeed not the same person)
A huge thank you to littledeconstruction on tumblr for proofreading the first email.
What if i want to read the book in full?
You’re more than invited to do so! You can find Thomas Moore and Ernest Dowson’s translations for free on the web, as well as the original text (public domain, my beloved). That being said, I encourage you, if you can, to buy the book from your local bookstore! (And it’s more than likely that it’ll include illustrations!)
A link to the original french text in full: Les Liaisons Dangereuses sur Wikisource, for the curious and/or francophone crowd.
Reading the book version will also provide you with another experience. I shan’t say more…
Who are you?
I am the Curator. If you have any questions regarding this project, you can write to: dangerousliaisonsdaily@gmail.com ; or visit dangerous-liaisons-daily.tumblr.com.
