The Red Lily — Complete

Anatole France set this study of jealous love in the drawing rooms of Paris and the villas of Florence. Therese Martin-Belleme, a beautiful countess bound to a cold, ambitious politician, has drifted into an affair she does not truly feel. Then, on a trip to Italy, she meets the sculptor Jacques Dechartre and discovers passion for the first time. Their happiness is real but fragile, for Therese cannot escape her past, and when her former lover reappears, Dechartre’s jealousy threatens to destroy everything they have found. France writes with cool irony and a connoisseur’s feeling for art and beauty, tracing how love and possessiveness feed on each other. This free edition is available as a PDF and EPUB download.