Paul and Virginia

by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre

"Paul and Virginia" by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre is a novel published in 1788. Set on the island of Mauritius under French rule, it tells the story of two friends raised together from birth who fall in love. Living in isolation amidst tropical landscapes, they lead an idyllic life of virtue and simplicity until family circumstances force a separation. Written on the eve of the French Revolution, the novel explores the corruption of natural innocence by French upper-class artificiality and critiques eighteenth-century social divisions.