8 h 59 minAudiobook5 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a court’s most carefully hidden desires could speak—and no one could silence them?
In Denis Diderot’s The Indiscreet Toys, Sultan Mangogul is young, bored, and surrounded by flattery. Then the genie Cucufa gives him a magic ring. It makes a woman’s most private part speak frankly about her love life, turning courtly secrets into scandalous comedy.
Congo, Mangogul’s kingdom, is a thin disguise for France and the court of Louis XV. As the sultan pursues his experiments, his quick-witted favorite Mirzoza offers candid comments. Between bawdy episodes, their conversations turn to books, music, art, and ideas. Beneath the laughter lies a pointed question: why does society work so hard to hide desire?
What you’ll discover
- Secrets that speak aloud Follow a magic ring that strips away polite appearances and exposes private desires.
- A court in disguise Look past Congo’s royal setting to find a sharp satire of French courtly life.
- Mirzoza’s clear eye Meet a candid, quick-witted favorite who often sees further than the restless sultan.
- More than bedroom jokes Move from scandalous scenes into lively conversations about books, music, art, and ideas.
- Desire beneath the manners Watch plain speech reveal the vanity and hypocrisy that careful social disguises conceal.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like witty satire, French history, and the lighter side of the Enlightenment. It is frank about sex throughout, so those who dislike bawdy comedy, or want a tightly plotted novel, may find it less suited.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A magic ring makes secrets speak
- Congo is Paris in a costume
- Talk about art, ideas and dreams
- Truth, desire and how it is told
Who’s who
- MangogulThe young sultan of Congo, restless and curious, who uses a magic ring to make the court's women speak the truth.
- MirzozaHis favorite, quick-witted and candid, who comments on his experiments and often sees further than he does.
- CucufaThe genie who gives Mangogul the ring and so sets the whole comedy in motion.
- SelimA courtier at the sultan's side, one of the men who move through the gossip and fashions of Congo.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 8 h 59 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 5 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: 0,14 USD a day, then 0,27 USD a day, never raised. Or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Les Bijoux indiscrets in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
Les Bijoux indiscrets
by Denis Diderot· 1748
A ruler’s magic ring exposes the secrets of courtly love.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Starts right away, on any device
Read free60-day money-back guaranteeRenews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works
Language: Français
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 4
A magic ring makes secrets speak
The story opens in Congo, a kingdom ruled by Sultan Mangogul. He is young, bored, and used to a court that flatters him. His favorite is the clever Mirzoza, who can talk with him as an equal and who tends to say what she thinks.
A genie named Cucufa gives the sultan a ring. When Mangogul turns its stone toward a woman, her most intimate part speaks aloud and tells the truth about her adventures. The women of the court cannot stop it, and they cannot lie their way out of it. The jewels of the title are exactly these talking parts.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
Denis Diderot
1713–1784 · French Enlightenment philosopher and encyclopedist
Denis Diderot was a French philosopher of the Enlightenment and chief editor of the Encyclopédie. Les Bijoux Indiscrets, his mischievous satirical novel, hides sharp observations about society and truth-telling inside a scandalous comic premise.
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More by Denis Diderot
All 4 books
More like this
Free
Free
Free
Free
FreeOur mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about Les Bijoux indiscrets
Can I read it free?
Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is The Indiscreet Toys about?
It is a satirical novel in which Sultan Mangogul of Congo gets a magic ring that makes women's private parts speak the truth about their love lives, exposing the hypocrisy of his court.
Is Congo in The Indiscreet Toys a real place?
No. Congo is a disguise for France under Louis XV. The Eastern setting was a fashionable device that let Diderot mock the Paris court while keeping some cover.
When was The Indiscreet Toys written and published?
Diderot published it in 1748, without his name on it. It is a fiction and a satire, not a true story, though it aims at real habits of French society.
Popular in humour and satire
See all
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
