Editing Manon Lescaut

{{Short description|Novel by Abbé Prévost}}
{{About|the novel by Prévost|other uses}}
{{Infobox book
| italic title      = 
| name              = The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut
| image             = Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux, et de Manon Lescaut.jpg
| image_size        = 
| border            = 
| alt               = 
| caption           = Title page of the standalone 1753 edition
| author            = [[Antoine François Prévost]]
| audio_read_by     = 
| title_orig        = Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux, et de Manon Lescaut
| orig_lang_code    = fr
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| country           = France
| language          = French
| series            = 
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| subject           = 
| genre             = [[Novel]]
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| publisher         = 
| publisher2        = 
| pub_date          = 1731
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| media_type        = Print
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| preceded_by       = 
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| native_wikisource = Manon Lescaut
| wikisource        = The Story of Manon Lescaut and of the Chevalier des Grieux
| notes             = 
| exclude_cover     = 
| website           = 
}}

'''''The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut''''' ({{Langx|fr|Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux, et de Manon Lescaut}} {{IPA|fr|istwaʁ dy ʃ(ə)valje de ɡʁijø e d(ə) manɔ̃ lɛsko|}}) is a novel by [[Antoine François Prévost]]. Most commonly referred to as simply ''Manon Lescaut'', the novel is a tragic love story about a [[French nobility|nobleman]] (known only as the [[Knight|Chevalier]] des Grieux) and a [[Commoner|common]] woman (Manon Lescaut). Defying conventional morality, they run away together and commit an escalating series of crimes to fund a lifestyle of pleasure. The narrative is presented as a long speech by des Grieux nine months after Manon's death, and is often interrupted by his retrospective emotions. The novel is regarded as a [[classic]], and is the most reprinted novel in French literature, with over 250 editions.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xxiii}}

The story was first published in 1731 in [[Amsterdam]] as the seventh and final volume of Prévost's [[Serial (literature)|serial]] novel ''[[Memoirs and Adventures of a Man of Quality]]'' ({{Langx|Fr|Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité}}). In 1733, all copies for sale in Paris were seized due to the volume's morally questionable content. This effective ban contributed to an increase in popularity, prompting several [[History of copyright#Early French copyright law|unauthorized reprints]] of ''Manon Lescaut'' without the rest of the ''Memoirs and Adventures''. In 1753, Prévost published a revised version of the standalone ''Manon Lescaut'', which is now the most commonly reprinted version.

On the novel's first publication, the characters' choices were seen as shockingly immoral: their decision to live together without marriage is the start of a moral decline that also leads to gambling, fraud, theft, and murder. The novel was unusual for depicting Paris's "[[Low-life|low life]]" and for discussing the lovers' money problems in numerical detail: both choices contribute to its [[Realism (arts)|realism]] and its aura of scandal. 

The story is remembered for its tragic lovers, with des Grieux and Manon often compared to [[Romeo and Juliet]] or [[Tristan and Iseult]]. Over the centuries, audiences have judged Manon's morals and personality differently. Eighteenth-century audiences saw her as an unworthy figure who nonetheless inspired affection and pity due to the sincerity of her love for des Grieux. Nineteenth-century responses saw her as a nearly mythological temptress, either a [[Femme fatale|''femme fatale'']] who corrupts des Grieux or a [[hooker with a heart of gold]] who is redeemed through her death. More recent scholarly analyses tend to see Manon as a victim of broader social forces, who is misunderstood and misrepresented by des Grieux's narration of her experience.

''Manon Lescaut'' has had dozens of adaptations into plays, ballets, operas, and films. The most renowned stage adaptations are three operas: [[Daniel Auber]]'s ''[[Manon Lescaut (Auber)|Manon Lescaut]]'' (1856), [[Jules Massenet]]'s ''[[Manon]]'' (1884), and [[Giacomo Puccini]]'s ''[[Manon Lescaut (Puccini)|Manon Lescaut]]'' (1893). ''Manon Lescaut'' also heavily inspired [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s opera ''[[La traviata]]'' (1853), through its influence on the play and novel ''[[The Lady of the Camellias|La Dame aux Camélias]]'' by [[Alexandre Dumas fils|Alexandre Dumas ''fils'']]. Notable film adaptations include the Hollywood [[silent film]] ''[[When a Man Loves]]'' (1927) and ''[[Manon 70]]'' (1968), starring [[Catherine Deneuve]] as Manon.

==Plot summary==
The seventeen-year-old Chevalier des Grieux, a [[seminary]] student and the younger son of a noble family, falls in [[love at first sight]] with Manon, a common woman on her way to a [[convent]]. He persuades her to run away with him, disappointing his father and forfeiting his hereditary wealth. In [[Paris]], the young lovers enjoy a blissful cohabitation, while des Grieux struggles to satisfy Manon's taste for luxury. He acquires money by increasingly desperate means: borrowing from his unwaveringly loyal friend Tiberge, cheating gamblers, stealing, and murder. On three occasions, des Grieux's wealth evaporates (by theft, in a house fire, etc.), prompting Manon to pursue a richer man for money because she cannot stand living in penury.[[File:AlbertLynch The JollyBoat Large.jpg|thumb|''Manon Lescaut and Her Lover, Des Grieux, Are Set Ashore in Louisiana'' (1896), by [[Albert Lynch]]|left|alt=Painting of a Des Grieux and Manon on a rowboat, gazing nobly into the distance while they are rowed ashore with low-class fellow travelers]]
Manon is deported to [[New Orleans]] as a prostitute and des Grieux travels with her. They pretend to be married and live in idyllic peace for a while. Des Grieux reveals their unmarried state to the Governor, [[Étienne Perier (governor)|Étienne Perier]], and asks to be wed to Manon. Perier's nephew, Synnelet, sets his sights on winning Manon's hand. In despair, des Grieux challenges Synnelet to a duel and knocks him unconscious. Thinking he has killed the man and fearing retribution, the couple flee New Orleans. They venture into the wilderness of [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]], hoping to reach an English settlement. Manon dies of exposure and exhaustion and des Grieux buries her, in the tragic climax of the tale. Heartbroken, he is taken back to France by Tiberge.

== Composition and publication ==
[[File:Histoire Du Chevalier des Grieux & de Manon Lescaut 1731.png|thumb|First page of the original 1731 version of the story, as volume VII of ''Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de Qualité'']]

Prévost likely composed ''Manon Lescaut'' in March and April 1731.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=vii}} At the time, he was in Amsterdam, and was writing quickly to satisfy his contract with the Compagnie des Libraires d'Amsterdam.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=vii}} The story was first published as volume VII of his successful novel ''Memoirs and Adventures of a Man of Quality, Who Withdrew from the World'' ({{Langx|fr|Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité, qui s'est retiré du monde}}), and was released with volumes V and VI in May 1731.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=vii-viii}}

The narrative of Manon Lescaut is set apart from the main events of ''Memoirs and Adventures'', with a preface and a preamble.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=viii}} The preface, titled "Note from the author" ({{Langx|fr|Avis de l'Auteur}}), explains that the story was too large to include within the main narrative.{{Sfn|Prévost|1731|loc=[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1510524s/f11.item p. 1]}} It also says the story will be a morally-instructive example for readers, who will learn not to imitate des Grieux.{{Sfn|Prévost|1731|loc=|p=2-8}} The preamble is narrated by the unnamed "man of quality" ({{Langx|Fr|homme de qualité}}) who is the protagonist of the main novel. He witnesses a group of prostitutes being deported. Curious about a particularly beautiful one (Manon), he speaks with the lover travelling with her (des Grieux). Two years later, he encounters des Grieux again, and asks to hear the full story of his experience in America.{{Sfn|Prévost|1731|loc=|p=9-21}}

A substantially revised edition appeared as a standalone publication in 1753.{{sfn|Johnson|2002|p=169}} The standalone volume was titled ''The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and of Manon Lescaut'' ({{Langx|fr|Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut}}),{{Sfn|Prévost|1753|loc=[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k850410d/f7.item title page]}} which was the subtitle of volume VII of ''Memoirs and Adventures''.{{Sfn|Prévost|1731|loc=[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1510524s/f19.item p.9]}} This edition claimed on its title page to be published in Amsterdam by the Compagnie des Libraires, but was actually published in Paris by François Didot.{{sfn|Scholar|2004|p=xxxi}} In this edition, Prévost modified some of his most sensationalist language,{{sfn|Scholar|2004|p=xxxi}} added a new scene where Manon resists the seduction of an Italian prince,{{Sfn|Ross|1983|p=200}} and rewrote the ending to replace des Grieux's religious conversion with a more [[Secularity|secular]] morality.{{sfn|Scholar|2004|p=xxxi}} The 1753 edition also added eight illustrations and an [[Allegory|allegorical]] vignette on the first page.{{sfn|Scholar|2004|p=xxxiii}}<!--note: there's more to say about these illustrations in Scholar-->

==Style==
The story is narrated as a long speech to the protagonist of Prévost's ''Memoirs and Adventures'', delivered by des Grieux nine months after Manon's death.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xvi-xvii}}{{Sfn|Donaldson-Evans|2010|p=58}} As such, it is an early example of the French genre of the confessional [[Récit|''récit'']]''.''{{Sfn|Segal|1986|p=xii}} All events are recounted in the first person, and shaped by des Grieux's retrospective self-justifications.{{Sfn|Donaldson-Evans|2010|p=58}} The novel does not use quotation marks, even when des Grieux relates what other characters have said.{{sfn|Scholar|2004|p=xxxi}} This blurs the boundaries between characters' speech and [[free indirect speech]].{{Sfn|Scholar|2004|p=xxxi}} Des Grieux's telling frequently interrupts the narrative with [[Apostrophe (figure of speech)|apostrophes]] to absent figures and expressions of intense emotion.{{Sfn|Ross|1983|p=205}} When he describes Manon, he often stutters or struggles to find words.{{Sfn|Ross|1983|p=205}}

== Major themes ==
[[File:The Burial of Manon Lescaut by Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret.png|thumb|''The Burial of Manon Lescaut'' (1878), by [[Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret]]|alt=Painting of Des Grieux, looking defeated, kneeling in front of a badly-dug hole, next to Manon's corpse]]
===Tragic love===
The story is particularly remembered for its tragic lovers, with des Grieux and Manon being compared to [[Romeo and Juliet]] and [[Tristan and Iseult]].{{sfn|Johnson|2002|p=170}} The scholar Jean Sgard argues that all of Prévost's writing, including ''Manon Lescaut'', is ultimately about "the impossibility of happiness, the pervasiveness of evil and the misfortune attaching to the passions," all of which lead to "mourning without end".{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=ix}} Although the book depicts its protagonists as suffering due to their poverty, it is not a [[Populism|populist]] novel that advocates for social reform.{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=95, 97}} Instead, the novel responds to their struggles with sadness and resignation.{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=95, 97}} It is an early example of the emerging [[sentimental novel]], in which love can justify anything, and important moral value is placed on strong emotion.{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=98-9}}

=== Scandalizing immorality ===
On the novel's first publication, the characters and their choices were seen as shockingly immoral.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=x-xi}} Des Grieux's rejection of the priesthood in favor of a sexual relationship without marriage, and his crimes of fraud and murder, challenged readers' expectations of acceptable actions for the hero of a novel.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xi}} Manon's willingness to have sex for money, and her general taste for pleasure and luxury, also seemed irreconcilable with her narrative role as a sympathetic love object.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xi}} Both were sometimes seen as corrupted characters,{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xi}} and the novel's realistic depiction of Paris's "[[Low-life|low life]]" was unusual and potentially threatening.{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=100-101}} Although the preface claims to disavow the characters' misbehavior, this is usually seen as an insincere pretense.{{Sfn|Gasster|1985|p=102}} The scandal was intensified by the historical setting of the novel: the story is set fifteen years before the year Prévost wrote it, so it takes place during the final years of [[Louis XIV]]'s conservative and orderly reign, rather than during the [[Régence|regency of King Louis XV]] when stories of corruption would be less surprising.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xii}}

=== Social rank and money ===
[[File:Voici l'homme que j'aime — Manon Lescaut (cropped).png|thumb|Engraving from the 1753 illustrated edition, in which Manon reassures des Grieux that he is the only man she loves.{{efn|The passage being illustrated reads: "She showed him her mirror: See, sir, she said to him; look at yourself well, and do me justice. You ask me for love. Here is the man I love, and whom I have sworn to love all my life. Make the comparison yourself." ({{langx|fr| Elle lui préſenta ſon miroir: Voyez, Monſieur, lui dit-elle; regardez-vous bien, & rendez-moi juſtice. Vous me demandez de l'amour. Voici l'homme que j'aime, & que j'ai juré d'aimer toute ma vie. Faites la comparaiſon vous-même.}}){{sfn|Prévost|1753|loc=[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8613366j/f34.double p. 20]}}}}|alt=A cheerful Manon in an elegant dress stands in a doorway next to a disheveled gentleman, and holds an elegant mirror up to the approaching des Griex]]

The novel is unusual in the French tradition for its detailed depiction of lower-class locations and activities, especially the criminal world.{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=93, 96}} Manon is considered "the first commoner heroine in French fiction",{{Sfn|Gelfand|Switten|1988|p=448}} and the gulf in social rank between her and the noble des Grieux is an obstacle to their love.{{Sfn|Donaldson-Evans|2010|p=57}} Des Grieux and Manon sometimes struggle to understand each other due to their different backgrounds.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xiv-xv}} For example, she does not understand why des Grieux is surprised and upset after she acquires money from other lovers; her different background leads her to see these as practical affairs, which do not threaten her love for des Grieux.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xiv-xv}}{{Sfn|Gasster|1985|p=103}} Their difference in rank is also apparent in the different punishments they receive for their transgressions.{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=94-5}} When both lovers are imprisoned for some of their crimes, des Grieux's aristocratic status shields him from the worst consequences while Manon ends up [[Deportation|deported]].{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=94-5}} Des Grieux often assumes—correctly—that even complete strangers will be willing to help him, if they share his aristocratic background.{{Sfn|Gasster|1985|p=104}} The novel thus highlights how justice is enforced unequally for different ranks of society.{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=94-5}}

[[File:Elle s'assit lorsque nous fûmes seuls .. (IFF 8), G.11541(2) (cropped).jpg|thumb|1827 engraving of Manon crying, consoled by des Grieux, during one of their stints of poverty|alt=Elegant and detailed illustration of Manon de Grieux gazing tearfully at each other in a shabby room]]
A distinct, and even greater challenge is their lack of money.{{Sfn|Donaldson-Evans|2010|p=57}} As an aristocrat, des Grieux is barred from ordinary employment; he could earn a professional income in the church, the military, or the law, but only if he still had his father's support.{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=93}} The literary scholar Haydn Mason describes the novel's setting as "a harsh and sordid world, motivated almost universally by money."{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=93}} ''Manon Lescaut'' is often highlighted as the first French novel to treat money as a major theme.{{Sfn|Donaldson-Evans|2010|p=57}}{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xii-xiii}} Exact numbers are provided throughout the novel, an unusual choice that contributes to the novel's [[Literary realism|realism]].{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=92-3}} Manon begins the novel with a dowry of 300 ''[[Livre tournois|livres]]'', which is less than a tenth of an ordinary dowry for a woman entering a convent.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xiii}} The annual salary for a servant (Manon and de Grieux each keep one) was 100 ''livres'', while Manon and de Grieux consider a "respectable but simple" annual income to be 6,000 ''livres'' per year.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xiii}} The financial gap between the lovers and their servants is large, but the gap between them and their patrons is even larger: two of Manon's lovers offer her 20,000 and 30,000 ''livres'' as annual spending money.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xiii}}

=== The character of Manon ===
Since the novel's first publication, substantial critical analysis has focused on the interpretation of Manon's character.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=459}} Because Manon's words and actions are always related through the filter of des Grieux's retrospective storytelling, readers can only speculate about her real thoughts, feelings, and intentions.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=460}} 

The earliest reviews in 1733 saw Manon as sympathetic but unexpectedly so, an unworthy "whore" ({{Langx|fr|catin}}) who was nonetheless appealing due to the sincerity of her love for des Grieux.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=461}}{{Sfn|Segal|1986|p=xviii}} She was both blamed and forgiven for des Grieux's corruption.{{Sfn|Segal|1986|p=xvii-xviii}} The 1753 illustrations reinforced the image of Manon as someone to be loved, pitied, and forgiven for her mistakes.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=463}} Eighteenth-century readers also saw Manon and des Grieux as helpless, fated to a tragic ending.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=466}} The crimes of both were equally justified by their love and their financial need.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=466}}

[[File:The Story of Manon Lescaut and the Chevalier Des Grieux (cropped).jpg|thumb|1886 illustration of Manon as [[Eve]]|alt=Bright red etching of a nude woman seductively offering an apple]]

Manon's reputation began to change in the nineteenth century, as she became a near-mythological figure.{{sfn|Scholar|2004|p=xxix}} Rather than being a simple, lighthearted girl of common birth, she was depicted as either a [[Femme fatale|''femme fatale'']] who destroys des Grieux, or as a [[hooker with a heart of gold]] who is redeemed through her death.{{sfn|Scholar|2004|p=xxix}} Adaptations like the popular opera ''[[Manon]]'' (1884) characterized Manon as powerfully seductive.{{sfn|Scholar|2004|p=xxix}} [[Alexandre Dumas fils|Alexandre Dumas ''fils'']], whose novel ''[[The Lady of the Camellias]]'' (1848) was heavily inspired by ''Manon Lescaut'', wrote of Manon: "you are sensuality, you are instinct, you are pleasure, the eternal temptation of man."{{sfn|Scholar|2004|p=xxix}} The literary historian [[Naomi Segal]] summarizes this period as one in which most critics "tend to view Manon as if she were a real woman and to heap upon her all the myths which operate within sexual politics in the non-fictional world".{{Sfn|Segal|1986|p=xxii}}

Twentieth-century scholarly interpretations tended to see Manon as the victim, not of her own weakness, but of various social systems.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=465}} For these readers, des Grieux's version of events is considered suspect,{{Sfn|Segal|1986|p=xxv}} and it is important to imagine how Manon might have narrated her story differently.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=465}}{{Sfn|Donaldson-Evans|2010|p=58}}  [[Feminist theory|Feminist theorists]] like [[Nancy K. Miller]] and Segal see Manon as a narrative victim of [[patriarchy]].{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=465}} Cultural-historical theorists see the novel as a conflict between [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocratic]] and [[Bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] ideologies; Manon is marginalized by her class, but makes savvy decisions to strategically ensure her survival.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=465}} Outside of academia, modern readers sometimes find Manon underdeveloped as a character.{{Sfn|Gelfand|Switten|1988|p=451}} Twenty-first century adaptations reinforced a [[Sociological theory|sociological]] interpretation of Manon's character.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=467}} Several adaptations translate the story to more recent time periods in French history, in which Manon is always a non-conformist who boldly pursues love despite disadvantaged circumstances.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=467-9}}

== Reception ==
''Manon Lescaut'' gained popularity gradually.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xxx}} When first published in 1731 as part of ''Memoirs and Adventures'', it was not discussed separately from the rest of the novel.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xxx}} Over the next few years, it was increasingly seen as a highlight of that novel.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xxx}} Reviewers universally praised the novel, especially for its success inducing tears.{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=98}} ''Memoirs and Adventures'' sold well in Holland and England on its first release, and a 1732 German translation was also successful, but it was largely ignored in France until 1733.{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=99}}[[File:Je placai l'idole de mon coeur dans une large fosse (cropped).png|alt=Black and white etching of de Grieux on his knees, beginning to dig, broken sword on the ground, gazing sadly at Manon's body|thumb|Illustration from the 1753 edition of ''Manon Lescaut'', published in response to popular unauthorized reprints of the volume]]In July 1733, the release of a new edition in Paris prompted a review in the clandestine ''Journal de la Cour et de Paris'', which brought it to the attention of many new readers, including the famous author [[Voltaire]].{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=99}}{{Sfn|Segal|1986|p=xviii}} On October 5, the French censors (who needed to approve all new publications) seized the copies currently for sale due to the book's morally questionable content.{{Sfn|Mason|1982|p=99}}{{Efn|According to the ''Journal de la Cour et de Paris'', the book was seized because "Besides the fact that people are made to play roles that are unworthy of them, vice and excess are depicted in ways that do not give enough horror." ({{langx|fr|Outre que l'on y fait jouer agens en place des roles peu dignes d'eux, le vice et le debordement y sont peints avec des traits qui n'en donnent pas assez d'horreur.}}){{sfn|Mason|1982|p=99}}}} This effective ban led to a sudden increase in popularity.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xxx}} As part of this new popularity, ''Manon Lescaut'' was printed separately from ''Memoirs and Adventures'' several times in 1733 and 1734,{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xxx-xxxi}} though these were [[History of copyright#Early French copyright law|unauthorized reprints]].{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=461}} In 1753, Prévost responded with a high-quality revised edition of ''Manon Lescaut'' as a self-contained novel.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xxxi}} Both ''Memoirs and Adventures'' and the standalone ''Manon Lescaut'' were reprinted frequently, with twenty editions of the first and eight of the latter appearing between 1731 and Prévost's death in 1763.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xxxi}}

Interest in the novel waned at the start of the nineteenth century, followed by another dramatic increase in popularity in 1830,{{Sfn|Segal|1986|p=xviii}} when it was adapted as a ballet.{{sfn|Scholar|2004|p=xxix}} Many further adaptations followed, with new reprints of ''Manon Lescaut'' each year.{{sfn|Scholar|2004|p=xxix}} In the late nineteenth century, editions were released with prefaces written by the famous French authors [[Alexandre Dumas fils|Alexandre Dumas ''fils'']] in 1875 and [[Anatole France]] in 1878.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=185}} Over time, the novel came to be regarded as a historical [[classic]].{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xxiii}} It became the most reprinted novel in French literature, with over 250 editions published between 1731 and 1981.{{sfn|Sgard|1991|p=xxiii}}

==Adaptations==

=== Stage adaptations ===
[[File:Sibyl Sanderson. Opéra-Comique. Manon. Rôle de Manon Lescaut. 19 octobre 1891 - btv1b532789757 (cropped).jpg|alt=Black and white photograph of a woman in luxurious eighteenth-century garb, gazing pleadingly above her|left|thumb|[[Sibyl Sanderson]] as Manon for an 1891 production of [[Jules Massenet]]'s ''[[Manon]]'' (1884)|upright]]
[[File:Maria Farneti7 (cropped).jpg|alt=Another black and white photograph of a woman in luxurious eighteenth-century garb, gazing pleadingly above her|left|thumb|[[Maria Farneti]] as Manon for a 1900 production of [[Giacomo Puccini]]'s ''[[Manon Lescaut (Puccini)|Manon Lescaut]]'' (1893)|upright]]

The first [[theatrical adaptation]] of ''Manon Lescaut'' was in 1772.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=187}} This was a comedy titled ''The Virtuous Courtesan'' ({{Langx|fr|La Courtisane vertueuse}}),{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=178}} which ends with Manon surviving.{{Sfn|Leichman|2017|pp=102}} It attempted to mix a sensitive and emotional portrayal of the lovers with some humour,{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=178}} but reviewers found it far inferior to the novel.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=187}} There were a few dramas in the eighteenth century and the [[Romanticism|Romantic]] period, followed by a larger number in the early twentieth century.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=177-8}} Relatively few of the early theatrical adaptations of ''Manon Lescaut'' have survived.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=177}} Although ballets and operas of ''Manon Lescaut'' became popular,{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=186}} only three theatrical dramas had even a modest success: ''The Virtuous Courtesan'' (1772), ''Manon Lescaut et le chevalier Desgrieux'' (1820), and ''Manon Lescaut'' (1851).{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=178}} All three include some incidental music, and the 1820 melodrama is also accompanied by a ballet.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=186}} These adaptations dramatize the narrative in similar ways.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=185}} Key scenes, which are consistently included are the reconciliation at [[Saint-Sulpice, Paris|Saint-Sulpice]], the scene at G. M.'s, the scene with the Italian prince, and des Grieux's desperate burial of Manon in Louisiana.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=185}}<!-- see Giroud 241–42 for more on the stage adaptations -->

[[Opera]]tic adaptations of the novel are, in the words of the literary historian Jean Sgard, "both numerous and late" ({{Langx|Fr|"la fois nombreuse et tardive"}}).{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=189}} Sgard argues that operatic adaptations came late in the legacy of the novel because the story's mixture of genres was incompatible with the dominant genre of serious opera characterized by [[George Frideric Handel|Handel]] and [[Jean-Philippe Rameau|Rameau]].{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=191}} The first operatic adaptation, in 1836, was not a success.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=191}} An important change in operatic precedent came after [[Giuseppe Verdi]]'s highly successful 1853 opera, ''[[La traviata]]'' ("The Fallen Woman").{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|pp=189, 207}} ''La traviata'' is based on the play and novel ''[[The Lady of the Camellias]]'' ({{Langx|fr|La Dame aux Camélias}}) by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'', which are themselves heavily inspired by ''Manon Lescaut''.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=189}} After 1853, six operas based on ''Manon Lescaut'' were produced.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=192}} These operas varied widely in how they adapted the story: it was divided into differing numbers of sections (from three to seven acts), and adaptations existed in the [[List of opera genres|different operatic genres]] of comic opera, opera, and lyric drama.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=192}} The most renowned adaptations of ''Manon Lescaut'' are the operas by [[Daniel Auber]] (1856), [[Jules Massenet]] (1884), and [[Giacomo Puccini]] (1893).{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=187}}

In the theatrical and operatic adaptations, Manon's three lovers are combined into just one.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=193}}{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=185}} Theatrical adaptations simplify the plot to one instance of infidelity, a reconciliation, and then the final tragedy,{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=185}} and operatic adaptations forgo the novel's long decline to dramatically juxtapose young love and tragic death.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=193}} The literary scholar Jean Sgard argues that, by reducing the complexity of the narrative, the theatrical adaptations present the lovers as being disproportionately punished for a single mistake, rather than capturing the novel's feeling of a gradual descent into immorality.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=185}} He further argues that operatic adaptations are forced to focus on a one-note characterization of Manon,{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=194}}{{Efn|Sgard says: "With opera, you have to choose: Manon will be a bird caught in a trap (Auber), a deviant woman redeeming herself (Verdi), a weak woman searching for herself (Massenet), a free and rebellious woman (Puccini), a being in perdition (Henze)" ({{langx|Fr|"Avec l'opéra, il faut choisir: Manon sera donc un oiseau pris au piège (Auber), une dévoyée se rachète (Verdi), une faible femme qui se cherche elle-même (Massenet), une femme libre et révoltée (Puccini), un être en perdition (Henze)"}}){{sfn|Sgard|1995|p=194}}}} and each opera's evaluation of her moral character is expressed in its depiction of her death.{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|pp=207-8}}

==== List of dramas, operas and ballets ====
* ''The Virtuous Courtesan'' ({{Langx|fr|La Courtisane vertueuse}}) (1772), a theatrical comedy by Brenner à C. Ribié{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=178}}{{Efn|In four acts. This play was first published in London and Paris in 1772, and reprinted with the title ''Manon Lescaut ou la courtisane vertueuse'' in 1774, but not performed until 1782.{{sfn|Sgard|1995|p=178}}}}
* ''Manon Lescaut et le chevalier Desgrieux'' (1820), a melodrama by [[Étienne Gosse]]{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=180}}
* ''Manon Lescaut'' (1830), a ballet by [[Jean-Louis Aumer]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The story of Manon – in literature, film and pop |url=https://www.ballet.org.uk/blog-detail/story-manon-literature-film-pop/ |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=English National Ballet |language=en-GB}}</ref>{{Efn|Music by Fromental Halevy. First performed at the Paris Opera Ballet.}}
* ''Manon Lescaut, or the Maid of Artois'' (1836), an opera by the Irish composer [[Michael William Balfe|Michael-William Balfe]]{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=191}}{{Efn|Libretto by Bunn. First performed at Drury Lane on May 27, 1836, sung by Malibran.{{sfn|Sgard|1995|p=191}}}}
* ''Manon Lescaut'' (1846), a ballet by Giovanni Casati<ref name=":0" />{{Efn|Music by Vincenzo Bellini. First staged at Teatro Alla Scalla. Ends with Manon marrying Des Grieux rather than dying.}}
* ''Manon Lescaut'' (1851), a drama by [[Théodore Barrière]] and Marc Fournier{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=191}}
* ''Manon Lescaut'' (1852), a ballet by Giovanni Colinelli<ref name=":0" />{{Efn|Music by Matthias Trebinger.}}
* ''[[Manon Lescaut (Auber)|Manon Lescaut]]'' (1856), an opera by French composer [[Daniel Auber]]{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=191}}{{Efn|Comic opera in three acts. Libretto by [[Eugène Scribe]]. First performed at the [[Opéra-Comique]].{{sfn|Sgard|1995|p=191}}}}
* ''[[Manon]]'' (1884), an opera by French composer [[Jules Massenet]]{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=191}}{{Efn|Comic opera in five acts. Libretto by [[Henri Meilhac]] and [[Philippe Gilles]]. First performed at the Opéra-Comique on January 19, 1884.{{sfn|Sgard|1995|p=191}}}}
* ''Manon Lescaut, or the Castle of Lorme'' ({{Langx|de|Manon Lescaut oder Schloss de Lorme}}) (1887), an opera by Richard Kleinmichel{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=192}}
* ''[[Manon Lescaut (Puccini)|Manon Lescaut]]'' (1893), an opera by the Italian composer [[Giacomo Puccini]]{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=192}}{{Efn|Lyric drama in four acts. Libretto by L. Illica, G. Giacosa. M. Praga, R. Leoncavallo, and G. Ricordi. First performed in Turin, February 1, 1893.{{sfn|Sgard|1995|p=192}}}}
* ''Manon Lescaut'' (1940), a drama in verse by Czech poet [[Vítězslav Nezval]]<ref name=":0" />{{Efn|First performed at the D40 theatre, a radical theatre in Prague.}}
* ''[[Boulevard Solitude]]'' (1952), an opera by German composer [[Hans Werner Henze]]{{Sfn|Sgard|1995|p=192}}{{Efn|Lyric drama in seven acts. Libretto by Greta Wiel. First performed in Hanover on February 17, 1952.}}
* ''[[L'histoire de Manon|Manon]]'' (1974), a ballet with music by [[Jules Massenet]] and choreography by [[Kenneth MacMillan]]<ref name="MacMillan">{{Cite web |date=2014-11-03 |title=Manon |url=http://www.kennethmacmillan.com/ballets/all-works/1970-1977/manon.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103170736/http://www.kennethmacmillan.com/ballets/all-works/1970-1977/manon.html |archive-date=2014-11-03 |access-date=2025-02-16 |website=Kenneth MacMillan}}</ref>{{Efn|The music by Massenet is not from Massenet's ''Manon Lescaut'', but rather is a selection of his other pieces selected to suit MacMillan's version of the story.<ref name="MacMillan"/>}}
* ''Manon'' (2015), a musical written for the [[Takarazuka Revue|Takarazuka]] troupe by librettist/director Keiko Ueda and composer Joy Son<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Performance Info: 'Manon' |url=https://kageki.hankyu.co.jp/english/revue/2015/manon/index_tokyo.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250216225207/https://kageki.hankyu.co.jp/english/revue/2015/manon/index_tokyo.html |archive-date=2025-02-16 |access-date=2025-02-16 |website=Takarazuka Revue}}</ref>

=== Film adaptations ===
[[File:When a Man Loves (1927) - 1.jpg|thumb|[[John Barrymore]] as des Grieux and [[Dolores Costello]] as Manon in [[When a Man Loves|''When a Man Loves'']] (1927)]]

''Manon Lescaut'' was adapted several times after the invention of film.<ref name=":1" /> These include a series of [[silent film]]s, the most prominent of which is the 1927 Hollywood adaptation titled ''[[When a Man Loves]]''.<ref name=":1" /> Early adaptations were [[Historical drama|period films]], set in the early eighteenth century;<ref name=":1" /> later film adaptations translate the novel's story to a contemporary setting.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=467-9}} The 1949 film ''[[Manon (film)|Manon]]'' by [[Henri-Georges Clouzot]] depicts des Grieux as a member of the [[French Resistance]] and Manon as a [[Nazi collaborator]]; he and Manon enter the [[Black market in wartime France|black market]] and eventually stowaway to Palestine with a group of Jewish refugees.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=467}}<ref name=":0" /> In ''[[Manon 70]]'' by [[Jean Aurel]], released in 1968 and set in the near-future of 1970, des Grieux is a globetrotting radio journalist who tags along with Manon's [[Sugar dating|sugar baby]] lifestyle;{{Sfn|Leichman|2017|pp=97}} instead of ending with Manon's tragic death, this film concludes with both Manon and des Grieux [[hitchhiking]].{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=467}} A pair of television miniseries directed by [[Jean-Xavier de Lestrade]] in 2014 and 2017 presents Manon as a contemporary young woman in a [[youth detention center]]{{Efn|More specifically, a ''{{interlanguage link|centre éducatif fermé|fr}}'', a French alternative for prison for minors.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=467}}}} who is failed by social systems and lives precariously.{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|pp=467-9}}<!-- a survey of cinematic adaptations is in Alan J. Singerman, « Manon Lescaut au cinéma », dans Richard A. Francis et Jean Mainil (dir.), L'Abbé Prévost au tournant du siècle, Voltaire Foundation, 2000, p. 369-382. -->

==== List of films ====
* ''Manon Lescaut'' (1908), Italian silent film directed by Carlo Rossi<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Manon Lescaut |url=http://silentera.com/PSFL/data/M/ManonLescaut1908.html |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=Silent Era: Progressive Silent Film List}}</ref>
* ''[[Manon Lescaut (1914 film)|Manon Lescaut]]'' (1914), American silent film directed by H.H. Winslow<ref name=":0" />
* ''[[Manon Lescaut (1926 film)|Manon Lescaut]]'' (1926), German silent film directed by [[Arthur Robison]], with [[Lya de Putti]] and [[Marlene Dietrich]]<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ9OeNV7F-A |title=Manon Lescaut (1926) |date=2014-06-12 |last= |access-date=2025-02-17 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
* ''[[When a Man Loves]]'' (1927), American silent film directed by [[Alan Crosland]], with [[John Barrymore]] and [[Dolores Costello]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=When a Man Loves |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/13199 |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=AFI{{!}}Catalog}}</ref>
* ''[[Manon Lescaut (1940 film)|Manon Lescaut]]'' (1940), Italian, directed by [[Carmine Gallone]], with [[Vittorio de Sica]] and [[Alida Valli]]<ref>Klossner, Michael. ''The Europe of 1500-1815 on Film and Television''. McFarland & Company, 2002. p. 242</ref>
* ''[[Manon (film)|Manon]]'' (1949), French, directed by [[Henri-Georges Clouzot]], with [[Michel Auclair]] and [[Cécile Aubry]]<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Romney |first=Jonathan |date=2019-06-20 |title=Manon on screen |url=https://operahollandpark.com/news/manon-on-screen/ |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=Opera Holland Park |language=en-GB}}</ref>{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=467}}
*  ''[[The Lovers of Manon Lescaut]]'' (1954), French, directed by [[Mario Costa (director)|Mario Costa]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Les Amours de Manon Lescaut de Mario Costa (1955) |url=https://www.unifrance.org/film/4634/les-amours-de-manon-lescaut |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=Unifrance}}</ref>
* ''[[Manon 70]]'' (1968), French, directed by [[Jean Aurel]], with [[Catherine Deneuve]] and [[Sami Frey]]{{Sfn|Leichman|2017|pp=93, 97}}{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=467}}
* ''Manon'' (1981), Japanese, directed by [[Yōichi Higashi]]<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Manon |url=https://mubi.com/en/us/films/manon-1981 |website=MUBI}}</ref>
* [[:es:Manón_(película_venezolana)|''Manón'']] (1986), Venezuelan, directed by [[Román Chalbaud]], with [[Mayra Alejandra]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Manon |url=https://www.3continents.com/en/film/manon/ |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=Festival des 3 Continents}}</ref>
* ''Manon Lescaut'' (2013), French [[television film]], directed by [[Gabriel Aghion]], with [[Céline Perreau]] and [[Samuel Theis]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Manon Lescaut |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/manon_lescaut_1926 |access-date=2025-02-17 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |language=en}}</ref>{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=467}}
* ''3 x Manon'' (2014) and ''Manon, 20 years old'' ({{Langx|fr|Manon 20 ans}}) (2017), French television [[miniseries]] by [[Jean-Xavier de Lestrade]]{{Sfn|Wyngaard|2019|p=467}}

==Translations==
The 1753 version of the novel is more common in modern editions.{{Sfn|Scholar|2004|p=xxxi}} English translations of the original 1731 version of the novel include [[Helen Waddell]]'s 1931 translation with a foreword by [[George Saintsbury]].<ref>{{Cite book |last= |url=https://archive.org/details/manonlescaut0000hele/mode/2up |title=Manon Lescaut |date=1934 |publisher=Constable and Company |translator-last=Waddell |translator-first=Helen |trans-title=}}</ref> For the 1753 revision there are translations by, among others, L. W. Tancock (Penguin, 1949—which divides the 2-part novel into a number of chapters),<ref>{{Cite book |title=Manon Lescaut: A New Translation |publisher=Penguin Classics |year=1949 |translator-last=Tancock |translator-first=L.W.}}</ref> [[Donald M. Frame]] (Signet, 1961—which notes differences between the 1731 and 1753 editions),<ref>{{Cite book |title=Manon Lescaut |publisher=Signet |year=1961 |translator-last=Frame |translator-first=Donald M.}}</ref> Angela Scholar (Oxford, 2004—with extensive notes and commentary),{{Sfn|Scholar|2004}} and Andrew Brown (Hesperus, 2004—with a foreword by [[Germaine Greer]]).<ref>{{Cite book |title=Manon Lescaut |publisher=Hesperus |year=2004 |translator-last=Brown |translator-first=Andrew}}</ref>

Henri Valienne (1854–1908), a physician and author of the first novel in the constructed language [[Esperanto]], translated ''Manon Lescaut'' into that language. His translation was published in Paris in 1908,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Manon Lesko |publisher=Presa Esperantista Societo |year=1908 |translator-last=Valienne |translator-first=D-ro}}</ref> and reissued by the British Esperanto Association in 1926.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Manon Lesko |publisher=British Esperanto Association |year=1926 |translator-last=Vallienne |translator-first=D-ro}}</ref>

== Illustrations ==
Several illustrated editions of ''Manon Lescaut'' have been produced, though it attracted substantially fewer illustrations than other bestsellers of the period like [[Voltaire]]'s 1759 novella ''[[Candide]].''{{Sfn|Ionescu|2016|p=560}} A 1963 catalogue identified 63 editions with original or notable illustrations, produced globally.{{Sfn|Ionescu|2016|p=560}} The illustrations introduced in the 1758 edition made the book into a "luxury object", and also made it more challenging to pirate.{{sfn|Cronk|Mander|1999|p=322}} New illustrated editions continued to be produced most decades from 1780 to 1980.{{Sfn|Ionescu|2016|p=560}} The novel also inspired a range of standalone visual interpretations, not published within an edition of the novel, though again fewer than similar eighteenth-century bestsellers; the visual iconography of ''[[Paul et Virginie]]'' (1788), for example, more firmly entered [[popular culture]].{{Sfn|Ionescu|2016|p=560}}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==Citations==
{{Reflist|20em}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
{{Cite journal |last=Cronk |first=Nicholas |last2=Mander |first2=Jenny |date=1999-09-01 |title=Delilahs Progress: The Illustration of 'Manon Lescaut' in 1753 and 1928 |url=https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/journals/bjrl/81/3/article-p321.xml |journal=Bulletin of the John Rylands Library |language=en |volume=81 |issue=3 |pages=321–360 |doi=10.7227/BJRL.81.3.12 |issn=2054-9318}}
* {{Cite book |last=Donaldson-Evans |first=Lance K. |url=https://archive.org/details/onehundredgreatf0000dona/mode/2up?q=manon |title=One Hundred Great French Books: From the Middle Ages to the Present |publisher=BlueBridge |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-933346-22-9 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Gasster |first=Susan |date=1985 |title=The Practical Side of Manon Lescaut |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3194653 |journal=Modern Language Studies |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=102–109 |doi=10.2307/3194653 |jstor=3194653 |issn=0047-7729}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Gelfand |first1=Elissa |last2=Switten |first2=Margaret |date=1988 |title=Gender and the Rise of the Novel |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/393166 |journal=The French Review |volume=61 |issue=3 |pages=443–453 |jstor=393166 |issn=0016-111X}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Ionescu |first=Christina |date=2016 |title=The Visual Journey of Manon Lescaut: Emblematic Tendencies and Artistic Innovation |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1754-0208.12419 |journal=Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies |language=en |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=559–577 |doi=10.1111/1754-0208.12419 |issn=1754-0208}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Joe |date=2002 |title=Philosophical Reflection, Happiness, and Male Friendship in Prévost's ''Manon Lescaut'' |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/265432 |journal=Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=169–190 |doi=10.1353/sec.2010.0009 |issn=1938-6133}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Leichman |first=Jeffrey M. |date=2017 |title=Deneuve's Manon |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/862732 |journal=The French Review |volume=91 |issue=1 |pages=93–104 |doi=10.1353/tfr.2017.0393 |issn=2329-7131}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mason |first=Haydn |chapter-url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-1-349-04660-7_6 |title=French Writers and their Society 1715–1800 |date=1982 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |isbn=978-1-349-04662-1 |location=London |pages=90–104 |language=en |chapter=Money and the Establishment: Prévost (1697–1763) |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-04660-7_6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Prévost |first=Antoine François |author-link=Abbé Prévost |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k850410d |title=Histoire du chevalier Des Grieux, et de Manon Lescaut. |year=1753 |via=Gallica}}
* {{Cite book |last=Prévost |first=Antoine François |author-link=Abbé Prévost |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1510524s |title= Mémoires et avantures d'un homme de qualité, qui s'est retiré du monde. |year=1731 |via=Gallica}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Ross |first=Kristin |date=1983 |title=The Narrative of Fascination: Pathos and Repetition in 'Manon Lescaut' |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41467296 |journal=The Eighteenth Century |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=199–210 |jstor=41467296 |issn=0193-5380}}
* {{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofchevalier0000prev/mode/2up |title=The Story of the Chevalier Des Grieux and Manon Lescaut |publisher=Oxford : New York : Oxford University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-19-284065-3 |editor-last=Scholar |editor-first=Angela |edition=Oxford World's Classics |chapter=Introduction}}
* {{Cite book |last=Segal |first=Naomi |title=The Unintended Reader: Feminism and ''Manon Lescaut'' |publisher=Cambridge UP |year=1986|isbn=978-0-521-30723-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/unintendedreader0000sega}}
* {{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9789910041754/mode/2up |title=Manon Lescaut |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1991 |editor-last=Sgard |editor-first=Jean |language=English |chapter=Introduction}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sgard |first=Jean |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MqEyEfwtjEEC |title=Vingt études sur Prévost d'Exiles |date=1995 |publisher=ELLUG |isbn=978-2-902709-96-0 |language=fr}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Wyngaard |first=Amy S. |date=2019 |title=Femme Fatale or Feminist Heroine? Interpreting Manon Lescaut |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26912366 |journal=Romance Notes |volume=59 |issue=3 |pages=459–470 |jstor=26912366 |issn=0035-7995}}
{{refend}}
==Further reading==
* {{in lang|fr}} Sylviane Albertan-Coppola, ''Abbé Prévost : Manon Lescaut'', Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1995 {{ISBN|978-2-13-046704-5}}.
* {{in lang|fr}} André Billy, ''L'Abbé Prévost'', Paris: Flammarion, 1969.
* {{in lang|fr}} René Démoris, ''Le Silence de Manon'', Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1995 {{ISBN|978-2-13-046826-4}}.
* Patrick Brady, ''Structuralist perspectives in criticism of fiction : essays on Manon Lescaut and La Vie de Marianne'', P. Lang, Berne ; Las Vegas, 1978.
* Patrick Coleman, ''Reparative realism : mourning and modernity in the French novel, 1730–1830'', Geneva: Droz, 1998 {{ISBN|978-2-600-00286-8}}.
* {{in lang|fr}} Maurice Daumas, ''Le Syndrome des Grieux : la relation père/fils au XVIIIe siècle'', Paris: Seuil, 1990 {{ISBN|978-2-02-011397-7}}.
* R. A. Francis, ''The abbé Prévost's first-person narrators'', Oxford: Voltaire Foundation, 1993.
* {{in lang|fr}} Eugène Lasserre, ''Manon Lescaut de l'abbé Prévost'', Paris: Société Française d'Éditions Littéraires et Techniques, 1930.
* {{in lang|fr}} [[Paul Hazard]], ''Études critiques sur Manon Lescaut'', Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1929.
* {{in lang|fr}} Pierre Heinrich, ''L'Abbé Prévost et la Louisiane ; étude sur la valeur historique de Manon Lescaut'' Paris: E. Guilmoto, 1907.
* {{in lang|fr}} Claudine Hunting, ''La Femme devant le "tribunal masculin" dans trois romans des Lumières : Challe, Prévost, Cazotte'', New York: P. Lang, 1987 {{ISBN|978-0-8204-0361-8}}.
* {{in lang|fr}} Jean Luc Jaccard, ''Manon Lescaut, le personnage-romancier'', Paris: A.-G. Nizet, 1975 {{ISBN|2-7078-0450-9}}.
* {{in lang|fr}} Eugène Lasserre, ''Manon Lescaut de l'abbé Prévost'', Paris: Société française d'Éditions littéraires et techniques, 1930.
* {{in lang|fr}} Roger Laufer, ''Style rococo, style des Lumières'', Paris: J. Corti, 1963.
* {{in lang|fr}} Vivienne Mylne, ''Prévost : Manon Lescaut'', London: Edward Arnold, 1972.
* {{in lang|fr}} René Picard, ''Introduction à l'Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'', Paris: Garnier, 1965, pp.&nbsp;cxxx–cxxxxvii.
* {{in lang|fr}} Alan Singerman, ''L'Abbé Prévost : L'amour et la morale'', Geneva: Droz, 1987.
* {{in lang|fr}} Jean Sgard, ''L'Abbé Prévost : labyrinthes de la mémoire'', Paris: PUF, 1986 {{ISBN|2-13-039282-2}}.
* {{in lang|fr}} Jean Sgard, ''Prévost romancier'', Paris: José Corti, 1968 {{ISBN|2-7143-0315-3}}.
* {{in lang|fr}} Loïc Thommeret, ''La Mémoire créatrice. Essai sur l'écriture de soi au XVIIIe siècle'', Paris: L'Harmattan, 2006, {{ISBN|978-2-296-00826-7}}.
* Arnold L. Weinstein, ''Fictions of the self, 1550–1800'', Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981 {{ISBN|978-0-691-06448-2}}.

==External links==
{{Wikisource|Manon Lescaut|''Manon Lescaut''}}
* {{Gutenberg |no=468 |language=English |title=Manon Lescaut}}
* {{Gutenberg |no=17983 |language=French |title=Manon Lescaut}}
* {{Gutenberg |no=75868 |language=Spanish |title=Manon Lescaut}}
* {{Gutenberg |no=59098 |language=Finnish |title=Manon Lescaut}}
* {{librivox book | title=Manon Lescaut | author=Abbé PRÉVOST}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061114010524/http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/lit/drama/ManonLescaut/toc.html ''Manon Lescaut''] on World Wide School
* [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b22001473 Images from an illustrated 1885 French edition]
* {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.litteratureaudio.com/livre-audio-gratuit-mp3/prevost-abbe-manon-lescaut.html/ ''Manon Lescaut'', audio version] [[Image:Speaker Icon.svg|20px]]

{{Manon Lescaut}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1731 novels]]
[[Category:Characters in French novels|Lescaut, Manon]]
[[Category:French novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:French novels adapted into operas]]
[[Category:French romance novels]]
[[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1731|Lescaut, Manon]]
[[Category:Novels adapted into ballets]]
[[Category:Novels set in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Novels set in New Orleans]]
[[Category:Novels set in Paris]]
[[Category:Novels set in the 18th century]]