To The Last Page

From the moment of her arrival into the court of Henry II, the Prince of Clèves is stricken by the extraordinary beauty of the young Mademoiselle de Chartres. The desire to marry the young woman is not entirely within his control, but the various social considerations, alliances and protocol of position are eventually overcome. They are married, but the Prince fears that his new wife isn't capable of demonstrating the same depth of feeling that he has for her. To her surprise however, the new Princess de Clèves discovers that those feelings do eventually arise within her, but they are not for her husband, but a fervent and persistent admirer, the Duc de Nemours. Thereafter there follows an elaborate game of dissemblance between the Princess and the Duc, each of them longing to explore these feelings and know what the other is feeling while keeping their emotions controlled within the accepted rules of Court etiquette, protocol and propriety. To fail to do so and have their secret k...