Author:Benjamin Constant,Leonard Tancock

Adolphe is a privileged and refined young man, bored by the stupidity he perceives in the world around him. After a number of meaningless conquests, he at last encounters Ellenore, a beautiful and passionate older woman. Adolphe is enraptured and gradually wears down her resistance to his declarations of love. But as they embark on an intense and tortured affair, Ellenore gives way to a flood of emotion that only serves to repel her younger lover - yet he cannot bring himself to leave her and his procrastination can only bring tragedy. Partly inspired by Constant's own stormy affair with Madame de Staël, Adolphe (1816) is a penetrating psychological depiction of love that plumbs the depths of the passions, motives and inconsistencies of the human character.
One of our foremost writers of naval fiction.
—— Sunday TimesAs always with Eco, there is much to admire
—— Sunday TimesA beautiful evocation of a difficult period of Italian history, full of the flair and erudition for which we love Eco
—— MetroGenuinely clever...the writing, the quotes and the pictures often tickle the brain
—— Irish IndependentWitty, playful, and incorrigibly erudite, Eco clearly had fun writing this book. There is much to enjoy
—— Daily MailAnother great exhilaration from Eco. Eye-poppingly fascinating
—— GuardianPerhaps the most intellectual novelist in Europe today. A highly idiosyncratic by engrossing novel
—— HeraldProfound and moving. A wonderful entertainer
—— ScotsmanEngaging
—— Sunday TimesThe opening is delightful, the sort of stuff that has readers rubbing their hands in anticipation...it is good to see Eco recapture something of his former glories, bouncing ideas of his readers with characteristic zest
—— Sunday TelegraphStimulating
—— Big Issue