Lucien Leuwen is an unfinished novel set in France under the July Monarchy. Lucien, the son of a rich banker, is expelled from the Polytechnique for political reasons and takes a military post in a provincial garrison, then moves into government work in Paris. He falls in love with a young widow, Madame de Chasteller, in a small town, and later faces the cynical world of politics and money. The book is a sharp, ironical portrait of its time and of an honest young man trying to keep his integrity. It was published only after Stendhal's death.