Books

A Transatlantic Love Affair: Letters to Nelson Algren

– A Transatlantic Love Affair: Letters to Nelson Algren. Compiled and annotated by Sylvie le Bon de Beauvoir. New York: The New Press, 1998.
From the publisher: In 1947, Simone de Beauvoir met Pulitzer Prize–winning writer Nelson Algren in Chicago, and it was love at first sight. A passionate affair ensued, spanning twenty years and four continents in an era when a transatlantic flight took… More

All Men are Mortal

– All Men are Mortal. Translated by Leonard M. Friedman. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1992. English translation of Tous les Hommes sont Mortels (Paris: Gallimard, 1946).
From the publisher: Probably de Beauvoir’s strangest and most compelling novel, this is the captivating story of a beautiful young actress who revives a downcast stranger at a French resort. He becomes thoroughly attached to her and confides a… More

Letters to Sartre

– Letters to Sartre. Translated and Edited by Quintin Hoare. London: Vintage, 1992. English translation of Lettres à Sartre (Paris: Gallimard, 1990).
From the publisher: Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre formed one of the most famous literary couples of the twentieth century. Their relationship took on the quality of legend and served as a model of openness and honesty for countless men and women.… More

Adieux: A Farewell to Sartre

– Adieux: A Farewell to Sartre. Translated by Patrick O'Brian. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1986. English translation of La cérémonie des adieux (Paris: Gallimard, 1981).
From the publisher: Simone de Beauvoir’s account of the last ten years of Jean-Paul Sartre’s life provides a focus for understanding one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century. But the book, consisting of both a year-by-year account of… More

When Things of the Spirit Come First

– When Things of the Spirit Come First. Translated by Patrick O'Brian. New York: Pantheon Books, 1982. English translation of Quand prime le spirituel (Paris: Gallimard, 1979).
From the publisher: This is a collection of semi-autobiographical tales written when the author was only 30, before World War II. Each tale concerns a young woman struggling with the effects of a Catholic upbringing and with the stifling social demands of the… More

The Coming of Age

– The Coming of Age. Translated by Patrick O'Brian. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1996. English translation of La vieillesse (Paris: Gallimard, 1970).
From the publisher: What do the words elderly, old, and aged really mean? How are they used by society, and how in turn do they define the generation that we are taught to respect and love but instead castigate and avoid? Most importantly, how is our… More

The Woman Destroyed

– The Woman Destroyed. Translated by Patrick O'Brian. New York: Pantheon Books, 1969. English translation of La femme rompue (Paris: Gallimard, 1967).
In three “immensely intelligent stories about the decay of passion” (The Sunday Herald Times), Simone de Beauvoir draws us into the lives of three women, all past their first youth, all facing unexpected crises.

A Very Easy Death

– A Very Easy Death. Translated by Patrick O'Brian. New York: Pantheon Books, 1965. English translation of Une mort très douce (Paris: Gallimard, 1964).
From the publisher: A Very Easy Death has long been considered one of Simone de Beauvoir’s masterpieces. The profoundly moving, day-by-day recounting of her mother’s death “shows the power of compassion when it is allied with acute intelligence”

The Ethics of Ambiguity

– The Ethics of Ambiguity. Translated by Bernard Frechtman. New York: Citadel Press, 1996. English translation of Pour une morale de l'ambiguïté (Paris: Gallimard, 1947). Beauvoir, Simone de Beauvoir, Simone de. Force of Circumstance, Vol. I: After the War, 1944-1952; Vol. 2: Hard Times, 1952-1962. Translated by Richard Howard. New York: Paragon House, 1992. English translation of La force des choses (Paris: Gallimard, 1963).
In her 1947 book The Ethics of Ambiguity, Simone de Beauvoir outlines an existentialist ethics.
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Multimedia

Harvey Mansfield and Bill Kristol on Feminism

– Harvey Mansfield on Conservatism, Constitutionalism, and Feminism.  Conversations with Bill Kristol.  2014.
A discussion of American conservatism, the Federalist, and the problem of feminism with the Harvard government professor.  The discussion on feminism begins at 1:01:29.    

Simone de Beauvoir Master-Mind Lecture at the British Academy

– Toril Moi.  "Simone de Beauvoir."  The British Academy.  March 20, 2014.
The British Academy Master-Mind Lecture delivered by Professor Toril Moi on March 20 2014 at the British Academy in London. Join Professor Moi as she discusses Simone de Beauvoir, a ‘Master-Mind’ in feminist theory. Author of The Second Sex… More

Simone de Beauvoir Today

– Simone de Beauvoir Today.  Duke Univeristy.  September 23, 2011.
The symposium, held at Duke University in September 23, 2011, commemorated the 25th death anniversary of 20th century’s leading feminist theorist and philosopher Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986).  Co-sponsored by the Program in Women’s Studies and the… More

Naomi Wolf and Harvey Mansfield Debate Feminism

– After Words with Harvey Mansfield and Naomi Wolf.  C-SPAN.  March 15, 2006.
Professor Mansfield was interviewed by Ms. Wolf about his book Manliness, published by Yale University Press. He explained that the book was his answer to the question, “What is manliness?” Using historical, philosophical, and political examples, he… More