Stendhal, the pseudonym of Marie-Henri Beyle (1783-1842), was a prolific writer in many genres, from art criticism and travel writing to various styles and modes of fiction. Red and Black (1830), his most enduring achievement, is considered by many to be one of the greatest masterpieces of nineteenth-century fiction.

Raymond N. MacKenzie is professor of English at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. His previous translations include Stendhal's Italian Chronicles, Barbey d'Aurevilly's Diaboliques, Lamartine's Graziella, and Balzac's Lost Illusions and Lost Souls (all published by the University of Minnesota Press).