Top of page

Book/Printed Material The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and of Manon Lescaut. Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut

View 349 images in sequence.
[ Volume 1 ]

More Resources

View 285 images in sequence.
[ Volume 2 ]

About this Item

Title

  • The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and of Manon Lescaut.

Other Title

  • Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut

Summary

  • Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut (Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and of Manon Lescaut), more commonly known as Manon Lescaut, is a novel by the Abbé Prévost (1697-1763), first published in Paris in 1731. Considered scandalous at the time, it was immediately banned. The novel tells the story of Chevalier des Grieux and his lover, the amoral courtesan Manon Lescaut. Des Grieux is from a noble family, but he forfeits his inheritance when he displeases his father and runs away with Manon. The two live together in Paris for a time, but des Grieux begins a downward descent into poverty and criminality. Manon is eventually deported as a prostitute to New Orleans, where des Grieux follows her. After a series of misadventures, the couple flees into the wilderness of Louisiana, where Manon dies of exposure and exhaustion. Des Grieux returns to France. This novel originally formed the last part of a seven-volume series called Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité (Memoirs and adventures of a man of quality). Presented here is the two-volume edition of the novel published in Amsterdam in 1753, which was revised and corrected by the author. The book is illustrated with engravings, including one that depicts the deportation of Manon Lescaut to Louisiana (after page 182 of volume two) and another showing her death in "a savage American land" (after page 240 of the same volume). The story was later adopted for the operas Manon (1884) by Jules Massenet (1842-1912) and Manon Lescaut (1893) by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924).

Names

  • Gravelot, Hubert-François, 1699-1773 Contributor.
  • Le Bas, Jacques-Philippe, 1707-1783 Engraver.
  • Pasquier, Jean Jacques, 1718-1785 Engraver.
  • Prévost, abbé, 1697-1763 Author.

Created / Published

  • Amsterdam : [publisher not identified], 1753.

Headings

  • -  France--Île-de-France--Paris
  • -  United States of America--Louisiana
  • -  1753
  • -  France--Colonies
  • -  French literature
  • -  New France
  • -  Nobility
  • -  Prostitution

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource at: National Library of France.
  • -  Content in French.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021667009

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Gravelot, Hubert-François, Contributor, Jacques-Philippe Le Bas, Jean Jacques Pasquier, and Abbé Prévost. The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and of Manon Lescaut. [Amsterdam: Publisher Not Identified, 1753] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667009/.

APA citation style:

Gravelot, H., Le Bas, J., Pasquier, J. J. & Prévost, A. (1753) The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and of Manon Lescaut. [Amsterdam: Publisher Not Identified] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667009/.

MLA citation style:

Gravelot, Hubert-François, Contributor, et al. The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and of Manon Lescaut. [Amsterdam: Publisher Not Identified, 1753] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021667009/>.