Illustrating Narrative Seduction

The engravings of the 1796 edition of L es L iaisons dangereuses bear witness to the late eighteenth‐century belief in a parallel between amorous and narrative seductions. More than mere interpretations of an intrigue, book engravings also offer a valuable insight into contemporaneous conceptualisations of novel‐reading. The series studied here can be interpreted as illustrating the early modern theory that what unites reader and author is indeed a dangerous liaison. By presenting a dialogue between these engravings and eighteenth‐century reception theories, I argue that book illustrations can help us understand how narrative seduction was believed to operate during the F rench E nlightenment

Art · Linguistics · Literature · Narrative · Reading (process · Witness · Historical and Literary Analyses · Historical and Literary Studies · Historical Art and Culture Studies · History · Philosophy