The Devil in the Flesh

The book of the film Le Diable au Corps. The Devil in the Flesh, one of the finest, most delicate love stories ever written, is set in Paris during the last year of the First World War. The narrator, a boy of sixteen, tells of his love affair with Martha Lacombe, a young woman whose soldier husband is away at the front. The liaison soon becomes a scandal and their friends, horrified and incredulous, refuse to accept what is happening - even when the affair reaches its tragic climax.