The tragic story of the beautiful but acquisitive Manon Lescaut and her devoted lover Chevalier des Grieux was written in the 18th century by the French author Abbé Antoine Prévost. On its first publication in 1731, it was banned in France because of its 'scandalous' content, though pirated copies were circulated widely. This English translation is based on Prévost's revised edition of 1753, in which he toned down some of the details and gave the story more of a 'moral' context. 'Manon Lescaut' and her ultimate fate in the swamps of Louisiana, to which she had been deported, has been the inspiration for several operas and ballets, notably by Puccini and Massenet, as well as being cited in books by Oscar Wilde and Stendhal amongst many others.