Stendhal's commitment to truth before style and his seriosatirical designation of the novel as a mirror of society have ensured The Red and the Black a leading place in the history of literary realism. Yet Stendhal enjoyed scant popularity during his own time, and was known less for his novels than for his writings on travel and music. He was more socially than intellectually known, enjoying the reputation of a salonnard whose caustic wit gave rise to the waggish phrase, ‘Stendhal, c'est un scandale.’ This presumably gives us a clue to the nineteenth-century pronunciation of his name. The small audiences his novels addressed are figured in the famous envoi (in English) of The Red and the Black: ‘To the Happy Few.’

We have seen that HB of The Life of Henry Brulard entertained serious doubts concerning the durability and probability of literary fame. Certainly nothing in reader reaction to The Red and the Black could have encouraged him to think otherwise. Early criticism of the novel was harsh, centring on the double accusation of the immorality and the implausibility of the characters. Julien's conduct appeared contradictory (even to Stendhal's friend Mérimée), and the conservative critic Jules Janin denounced Mathilde as ‘crazy’.