After learning of her husband’s infidelity, a desperate young Parisian woman from high society decides to start living as a “free woman” and indulges in vices and gloomy pleasures—things that are, in essence, completely alien to her spiritual makeup.
After its release in France in 1922, “Monika Lerbyer” caused a real shock in society. The book enjoyed tremendous success and, at the same time, sparked a wave of outrage among the respectable public. “An unworthy novel” was accused of insulting public morals, slander, and pornography, and as a result its author was removed from the list of knights of the Legion of Honour.