''L'Amour monstre'' ("monstrous love") is a 1954 novel by the French writer

Louis Pauwels Louis Pauwels (; 2 August 1920 – 28 January 1997) was a French journalist and writer. Born in Paris, France, he wrote in many monthly literary French magazines as early as 1946 (including ''Esprit'' and ''Variété'') until the 1950s. He partic ...

. It is set in the 16th century and tells the story of a possibly bewitched love affair between a doctor and a young woman sent to a monastery. The novel was the runner-up for the 1955

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

. Ingmar Bergman was at one point attached to direct a film adaptation, but the project was not realised. The book is mentioned in the lyrics of Serge Gainsbourg's 1968 song " Initials B.B." Gainsbourg had been recommended the book by

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amour monstre 1954 French novels Éditions du Seuil books French-language novels Novels set in the 16th century Works by Louis Pauwels