Super Short Summary

The Red and the Black by Stendhal follows the ambitious Julien Sorel, the son of a carpenter in 19th-century France, who seeks to rise socially through the Catholic Church. He becomes a tutor, has an affair with Madame de Rênal, and later, works for the de la Mole family in Paris, navigating complex relationships while grappling with societal hypocrisy and his own ambitions. The novel includes themes of attempted murder.