When Charles Sainte-Beuve, a French journalist, met Victor Hugo, an ambitious young writer, he was swept into a world of grand emotions, a world where words can become swords. But Charles' attraction moves on from Victor, to his wife Adèle. Soon the two lovers are on the edge of a great \u003ci\u003escandale\u003c/i\u003e and a wounded Victor must exact his price for betrayal.Set during the tumultuous reign of Napoleon III, this mesmerising novel draws a rich portrait of old Paris, where duels were fought and cholera-ridden bodies float in the Seine. An atmospheric story of delicacy and emotion, \u003ci\u003eThe Reinvention of Love\u003c/i\u003e brings together the voices of two women destroyed by Victor Hugo's ferocious ambition, and the unique, acerbic and heart-breaking voice of Charles Sainte-Beuve, first Hugo's friend and then his unlikely competitor in love.