Stendhal: The Abbess of Castro etc, v1, 6 Oct 2007.
 

Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle)
The Abbess of Castro and Other Shorter Novels

Contains:
The Abbess of Castro,
Vittoria Accoramboni,
The Cenci,
The Duchess Of Palliano,
Vanina Vanini
Translated from the French by C. K. Scott-Moncrieff (1926)

These are historical novellas, set in Italy (where Stendhal spent many years as French Consul). All but the last are based on true stories.

All the stories have women as the central character and in all cases these women are constrained- often mere pawns - and unable to act freely. The most tragic story is that of Beatrice Cenci, a fifteen year old girl, imprisoned and incestuously abused by her father. She has him murdered, only to be tortured and executed by the Papal authorities.

This completes my Stendhal series, until more of his works become available online.