The reinvention of love - Helen Humphreys

When Charles Sainte-Beuve, a French journalist, met Victor Hugo, an
ambitious young writer, he was swept into a world of grand emotions, a
world where words can become swords. But Charles' attraction moves on
from Victor, to his wife Adle. Soon the two lovers are on the edge of a
great scandale and a wounded Victor must exact his price for betrayal.Set
during the tumultuous reign of Napoleon III, this mesmerising novel
draws a rich portrait of old Paris, where duels were fought and
cholera-ridden bodies float in the Seine. An atmospheric story of
delicacy and emotion, The Reinvention of Love brings together the
voices of two women destroyed by Victor Hugo's ferocious ambition, and
the unique, acerbic and heart-breaking voice of Charles Sainte-Beuve,
first Hugo's friend and then his unlikely competitor in love.