The Charterhouse of Parma explores the fortunes of Fabrice del Dongo, a young nobleman and devoted admirer of Napoleon. The plot is set primarily in the court of Parma, Italy, during the early 19th century. It is regarded as one of Stendhal's masterpieces, exceptional because of its favorably sophisticated portrayal of human psychology and its precisely illustrated descriptions. Stendhal describes both the ardent passion and the preference for court conspiracy present in the Italian character. Yet, he does this with satire and a political commentary, indeed French, thereby creating not only a fantastic realistic novel but a work that comments on the romantic novels that have gone before. The book is noted as an earlier example of realism, a sharp contrast to the Romantic style prevalent during the time Stendhal was writing. It is believed by many respected authors to be a genuinely revolutionary work. It is undoubtedly a captivating exploration of what inspires people and how they behave.