The latter decades of the eighteenth century in France saw the epistolary novel reach a particular intensity, as writers exploited the form's capacity for irony, psychological complexity, and social critique. Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, born in Amiens on 18 October 1741, emerged from this literary moment as one of its notable practitioners, producing work in French that engaged the conventions of the genre with considerable effect.

Laclos led a life that extended well beyond literary pursuits. He served as a military officer and military commander, and also held roles as an official, a journalist, and an inventor — a range of activities that situated him at the intersection of several public spheres in revolutionary and post-revolutionary France. His work as a prose writer and novelist, however, remained the dimension of his career for which he would be most closely identified. He wrote in the epistolary novel genre, constructing narratives through the exchange of letters, a form that allowed for the exploration of perspective and deception in ways that aligned with the social tensions of his era.

His novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, published in 1782, stands as the central achievement of his literary output and has been identified as his most notable work. The novel's appearance brought immediate attention to its author's skill in handling the mechanics of the epistolary form. Laclos died on 5 September 1803 in Taranto, leaving Les Liaisons dangereuses as the definitive anchor of his reputation as a French novelist.