The film keeps the original title of Balzac's novel from March 1834.
The novel Duchess Langeais is reading is the 1802 book "Delphine" by Germaine de Staël. It examines the limits of women's freedom in an aristocratic society, and the author was exiled by Napoleon.
Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2007 (#10, tied with "Sang sattawat" and "Hei yan quan")
Prologue: "The Isle of Majorca, 1823. After the fall of Cadiz to the French army, and the restoration of King Ferdinand VII to the throne. In the Carmelite convent, General de Montriveau hears a mass. In honor of the solemnity, the choir curtains are drawn, but the nuns are secluded in the organ loft."