“Tangerines” is one of the most famous novels of the 20th century, the pinnacle of the work of Simone de Beauvoir, a famous writer, philosopher, “an exceptional woman who left her mark on all of our time” (F. Mitterrand). The events described in the book, are somehow connected with the collapse of the hopes of the French intelligentsia born during the years of Resistance. In order to more fully present the post-war era, the author introduces many characters into the narrative, the main ones being left-wing writers Henri Perron and Robert Dubreuil (their prototypes were A. Camus and J.-P. Sartre). Although the main intrigue is the quarrel and then the reconciliation of these two extraordinary personalities, an important place in the plot is also given to Anna, Dubreuil’s wife - in this image the features of Simone de Beauvoir herself are easily discernible. Much of what the writer told in her best work, awarded the Goncourt Prize, is explained in the fate of women as such and is connected with the position of women in the modern world. The novel, for several decades considered a reference book for Western intellectuals, is finally becoming the property of Russians reader.