Bonjour Tristesse

by Francoise Sagan

Published June 1978
The French Riviera: home to the Beautiful People. And none are more beautiful than Cecile, a precocious seventeen-year-old, and her father Raymond, a vivacious libertine. Charming, decadent and irresponsible, the golden-skinned duo are dedicated to a life of free love, fast cars and hedonistic pleasures. But when Raymond decides to marry, he lets loose in Cecile raw, ungovernable impulses to destroy, with tragic consequences.

BONJOUR TRISTESSE scandalized 1950s France with its portrayal of teenager Cecile, a heroine who rejects conventional notions of love, marriage and responsibility to choose her own sexual freedom.