Romance Intermediate | 1 600 slov The Red and the Black is the story of the lives and loves of a young man, Julian Sorel, who is torn apart by the two sides to his personality, the 'red' and the 'black'. Through his love affairs with the aristocratic and beautiful Madame de Renal and the passionate Mathilde, Sorel tries - and fails - to gain wealth and social standing, with fatal results.