Stendhal 
The Red and the Black. 

"The Red and the Black" (1830) is a psychological novel written in two volumes by Stendhal. The text tells the story of a young man (Julien Sorel) born in a small town and grew up in a culturally and socially modest family context: he, at a certain point, decides to deny his humble origins through commitment, hard work , but also deceit and hypocrisy. Greed, however, will lead the protagonist of the novel to perdition.The events narrated in this work make the reader understand how often, too much ambition and unbridled greed can totally ruin a person's life.