The Romantic novelist George Sand - friend of Balzac, Hugo, and Liszt, and lover of Musset and Chopin - wrote this novel in 1834 in Paris and Venice, during her tumultuous affair with Musset. Through this story of a princess, the absolute ruler of an imaginary kingdom, Sand explores issues of leadership by women, male jealousy, and the problems faced by women who want both political power and committed relationships. The Private Secretary (Le Secretaire intime) speaks to the concerns of contemporary women who want to have it all, and is appropriate for courses in women's studies as well as French literature in translation.