New generations of readers respond as their parents and grandparents did with unashamed tears to the sad plight of the beautiful and doomed Marguerite Gautier. Camille retains its fragrance through the years; it is a tale that stirs an unassuageable heartache, and over it there hovers a sentiment forever tender and yearning. It is read now as it was before and as it will be read years hence as the love story of the eternal Magdalene glorified by her passion and misfortune.