9 h 56 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 56 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What is love worth in a Paris where money, ambition, and reputation put trust to the test?
In Love Today, Daniel Lesueur brings love, ambition, and betrayal into the world of Belle Époque Paris. Salons, newspapers, theatres, and fast-moving fortunes form the backdrop. The heart pulls one way; the wish to rise in society pulls another. Love faces the pressure of careers, money, and the need to protect a good name.
Lesueur, the pen name of French writer Jeanne Loiseau, explores modern love from a woman novelist’s perspective. Marriage sits between feeling and social ambition: it can be a bond of affection, a bargain, or both. Betrayal makes trust a central concern, asking what people owe each other when private desires meet the demands of reputation.
What you’ll discover
- Paris beyond the glamour Enter a world of salons, theatres, and fortunes where social standing matters.
- Hearts against ambition Explore the strain between loving someone and wanting to get ahead.
- Marriage and its bargains Consider how affection and social advantage can pull at the same bond.
- The weight of trust Follow the uneasy place of loyalty in a world shaped by rivalry and reputation.
- A woman writer’s perspective Discover Jeanne Loiseau’s view of love through the name Daniel Lesueur.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy Paris in the 1880s, character-driven love stories and heroines who paint and feel deeply will love this novel. It also suits admirers of Balzac, Zola and Maupassant.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A painter meets the man she loves
- A sheltered girl builds her own religion
- A declaration with no promise of marriage
- One Sunday in Passy and Versailles
- The little house on Rue Chevert and the warnings
- A ball, a promise and a silence
- The nest at Clamart and a rival friend
- Ambition and money drive the story
- How a society teaches women to know nothing
- A narrator who comments, and objects that speak
Who’s who
- Renée SorelA young Paris painter of great talent and trust, she supports her parents and gives her heart wholly to Lionel.
- Lionel DuplessierA handsome, eloquent young politician and protégé of Gambetta, he wants fame and wealth and loves in a way that never costs him.
- Fabrice de LigneulLionel's loyal, shy and chivalrous friend, a viscount who works hard for a political career and admires Renée deeply.
- Mr. SorelRenée's father, a blind university professor who writes a history of parliamentary government and has strong opinions on politics.
- Mrs. SorelRenée's gentle, devout mother, who cares for her husband and wants only her daughter's happiness and safety.
- Gisèle d'AltenheimA rich banker's daughter and Renée's pupil, who commissions a portrait that wins a medal at the Salon.
- Mrs. AndersonA Frenchwoman who hosts weekly evenings for artists and writers, hoping to find husbands for her two daughters.
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Love Today
by Daniel Lesueur · 1888
A young painter in Paris slips away to meet Lionel, a rising politician, and her ordered life begins to unravel.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
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In short
What happens when a gifted young woman gives her whole heart to a man who loves himself first? Love Today opens on a cold December afternoon in Paris.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A painter meets the man she loves
The novel begins with a shudder. Renée Sorel is walking along the Quai d'Orsay after copying a painting at the Louvre when she sees Lionel Duplessier coming toward her. She has taken the long way on purpose, though she would be ashamed to admit it.
Lionel is twenty-four and already important. He is handsome, with long velvety brown eyes. He greets her warmly and invites her to warm herself by his office fire. Renée thinks she sees a noble, selfless young man. The narrator tells us that Lionel is silent in love on purpose, because soft looks work better on women than arguments.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1888
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Lesueur, Daniel. Love Today. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/love-today.
Lesueur, D. (2026). Love today. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/love-today (Original work published 1888)
Lesueur, Daniel. Love Today. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/love-today.
@book{lesueur2026love,
author = {Lesueur, Daniel},
title = {Love Today},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/love-today},
note = {First published 1888}
}
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What is Love Today by Daniel Lesueur about?
It follows Renée Sorel, a young Parisian painter, as she falls in love with Lionel Duplessier, an ambitious politician. Their affair brings a hidden pregnancy, a secret home at Clamart and a slow loss of trust, all set in early 1880s Paris.
Who is Lionel Duplessier based on?
Lionel is a fictional character, but the book places him beside real figures, above all the statesman Léon Gambetta, who is his patron and mentor. Lesueur uses Lionel to show how ambition and charm can shape a young politician.
Is Love Today a true story?
It is a novel, though it uses real history. Gambetta, Brisson and the Chamber of Deputies appear, and events such as the fall of Gambetta's government in January 1882 are real. Renée and her family are invented.
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