"Les Demi-Vierges" by Marcel Prévost is a novel published in 1894. The story centers on Maud de Rouvres, a bourgeois young woman who manipulates her suitors by granting intimacy while preserving her virginity for a wealthy husband. Her calculated games with two admirers—the elegant but poor Julien and the rich Maxime—lead to jealousy, betrayal, and tragedy. The novel explores several such "demi-vierges" navigating the boundaries between virtue and desire in French society, sparking controversy upon its release. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
These books are free to read. Each is in the public domain in the United States; check your own country's rules before you copy or share one.
