Les belles images vs Princesse de Clèves: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: French fiction, Continental european fiction, Fiction
Les belles images
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"Non ; elle a crié tout haut. Pas Catherine. Je ne permettrai pas qu'on lui fasse ce qu'on m'a fait. Qu'a-t-on fait de moi ? Cette femme qui n'aime personne, insensible aux beautés du monde, incapable même de pleurer,…
Princesse de Clèves
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The Princess of Cleves is a French novel published in 1678 that is regarded as one of the first psychological novels. The plot is set in the royal court of Henry II of France.
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Les belles images has the widest readership — 4052 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| Les belles images | Princesse de Clèves | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (4052) | 3.8 (43) |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (4) | 3.1 (12) |
| Apple Books | — | 3.5 (5) |
Reception
| Les belles images | Princesse de Clèves | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 4052 | 43 |
| Editions | 41 | 417 |
| Citations | 14 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 4405 | 51 |
| Reading it now | 190 | — |
| Written reviews | 347 | 10 |
| Wikipedia attention | 251 | — |
| Pages | 174 | 198 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Les belles images or Princesse de Clèves?
Les belles images has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Les belles images 3.8/5, Princesse de Clèves 3.7/5).
Which is shorter to read: Les belles images or Princesse de Clèves?
Les belles images is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Les belles images (174 pages, ≈ 3 h 13 m); Princesse de Clèves (198 pages, ≈ 3 h 40 m).
Which is harder to read: Les belles images or Princesse de Clèves?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Les belles images: Moderate; Princesse de Clèves: Demanding.
Have both books been made into films?
Les belles images: no film adaptation on record; Princesse de Clèves: 2 film adaptations.