Nerval's "Angelique"

The preceding doppelganger lit was ok (I remembered them once I got in), but his Angelique is the first piece I've really "come back to" (and it's a real hoot besides).

A taste:

     From the age of thirteen onwards, Angelique de Longueval, whose temperament was at once dreamy and despondent, claimed -- in her own words -- that she had no interest in fine jewellery or beautiful carpets or elegant clothing and thought only of death to cure her spirits.  A gentleman in the service of her father fell in love with her. He could not take his eyes off her, he attended to her slightest need, and even though Angelique had not the faintest idea what Love might be, she was pleasantly surprised to find herself the object of such assiduous attention.
     When this gentleman finally declared his love to her, his words so impressed themselves on her memory that six years later, after having gone through the trials and tribulations of another love and having suffered misfortunes of every sort, she could still remember this first letter and recite it to herself word by word.