Le Rouge et le Noir (French for The Red and the Black) is a historical psychological novel in two volumes by Stendhal, published in 1830.It chronicles the attempts of a provincial young man to rise socially beyond his modest upbringing through a combination of talent, hard work, deception, and hypocrisy-yet who ultimately allows his passions to betray him. The novel's full title, Le Rouge et le Noir: Chronique du XIXe siècle (The Red and the Black: A Chronicle of the 19th Century), indicates its