Information about the Author

Françoise Sagan (1935-2004) was only eighteen years old when her first novel, Bonjour Tristesse, was published. Her other novels include Incidental Music, A Certain Smile, and The Painted Lady.

Summary

The charming, self-absorbed seventeen-year-old Cécile is the perfect example of carefree amorality. Freed from the stifling constraints of boarding school, she spends a carefree two-month summer vacation with her father—a handsome, still young widower with a wandering gaze—in a beautiful villa outside of Paris with his latest mistress, Elsa. Cécile enjoys the lighthearted moments she shares with her father while planning her own sexual adventures with a tall and almost beautiful law student. However, the visit of her late mother’s best friend, Anne, disrupts their youthful happiness.