La Comédie Humaine (English)
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At the Sign of the Cat and Racket
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 1 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
At the Sign of the Cat and Racket is a novella by Honoré de Balzac, first published in 1830. It is the first work in the Scènes de la vie privée, a selection of writings which make up the first volume of Balzac's La Comédie humaine. It tells the story of the relationship between the lofty artist Théodore de Sommervieux and Augustine Guillaume, the down-to-earth daughter of a cloth merchant.
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The Ball at Sceaux
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 2 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
The Ball at Sceaux is the second work in Balzac's La Comédie humaine published by Hawthorne Classics. The novella tells the story of young Émilie de Fontaine who, despite ambitions of a lofty match, falls in love with the mysterious Maximilien Longueville.
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Letters of Two Brides
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 3 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Letters of Two Brides by Honoré de Balzac is an engaging epistolary novel that provides a profound exploration of two women's lives in early 19th-century France. The book unfolds through intimate letters exchanged between two close friends - Louise de Chaulieu and Renée de Maucombe. Through their correspondence, Balzac deftly explores their transition from the confines of the convent school to the complexities of adulthood, marriage, and society. This tale is a stunning portrayal of female friendship, the dynamics of love, and the societal constraints of their time.
Both women follow different paths in life, with Louise pursuing a path of romantic passion and Renée embodying the virtues of duty and motherhood. Their differing views and experiences of love and life present a fascinating dichotomy, offering the reader a deep dive into their innermost thoughts and emotions. Balzac's nuanced depiction of their individual journeys illuminates the human condition, creating a captivating narrative that is both a love story and a social commentary. Letters of Two Brides is a remarkable exploration of the enduring themes of love, friendship, and the choices we make.
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A Start in Life
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 6 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
The novel A Start in Life is part of the Scenes of Private Life section of Honoré de Balzac's masterpiece of nineteenth-century realism, The Human Comedy. In much of Balzac's work, the aristocracy is portrayed as vain, duplicitous, and greedy. But in this novel, it is members of the working class who are mercilessly skewered when what starts out as a harmless prank rapidly snowballs into a comedy of errors with profound consequences. As part of our mission to publish great works of literary fiction and nonfiction, Sheba Blake Publishing Corp. is extremely dedicated to bringing to the forefront the amazing works of long dead and truly talented authors.
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A Second Home
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 9 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
In this novella from Honoré de Balzac, an impoverished mother and daughter slave away as embroiderers but are barely able to evade starvation. Finally, what seems to be a blessing enters into their lives -- an older gentleman falls in love with the daughter, Caroline, and whisks her away to a fine country estate. Will Caroline get the happily-ever-after she so richly deserves? As part of our mission to publish great works of literary fiction and nonfiction, Sheba Blake Publishing Corp. is extremely dedicated to bringing to the forefront the amazing works of long dead and truly talented authors.
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Domestic Peace
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 10 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Domestic Peace. Translation of: La paix de menage
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A Daughter of Eve
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 14 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
This short novel, part of the Scenes of Private Life section of Honoré de Balzac's vast masterpiece The Human Comedy, includes the first appearances of key characters who return later in the series. A Daughter of Eve is a tale in which seemingly innocent peccadilloes soon spiral into an inescapable web of intrigue, fraud, and lust. As part of our mission to publish great works of literary fiction and nonfiction, Sheba Blake Publishing Corp. is extremely dedicated to bringing to the forefront the amazing works of long dead and truly talented authors.
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La Grande Breteche
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 16 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
La Grande Breteche by Honoré de Balzac. Translated by Clara Bell and Ellen Marriage
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La Grenadiere
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 17 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
La Grenadiere by Honoré de Balzac. Translated by Ellen Marriage
Immerse yourself in a French pastoral idyll in this engrossing tale from Honore de Balzac, whose unparalleled powers of description will whisk you away to La Grenadiere, a quaint estate in the midst of a blossoming orchard. Indeed, the house itself emerges as one of the most memorable characters in the story.
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The Deserted Woman
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 18 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
When young Gaston moves to Bayeux, a small province in Normandy, he feels stranded. Though he would rather spend his time in the capital city, Gaston must stay in Bayeux until he recovers from his illness. He feels unsatisfied and bored, until he hears the rumor about a woman living as a recluse on the countryside. Victomtesse de Beauseant is a beautiful woman who had been abandoned by her husband many years ago. Devastated, and now stuck in a loveless marriage because she cannot get a divorce, she lives in isolation. Gaston is moved by her story and becomes fixated, desperate to meet her. When he finally gets the courage to visit her home, Victomtesse de Beauseant is flattered by his infatuation, and despite her being ten years his senior, Beauseant and Gaston become lovers. However, their private paradise is soon interrupted by Gaston's disapproving mother, who is pressuring him to marry a woman he does not love. As rumors grow and Gaston's mother becomes more persistent, Gaston and Victomtesse's love is tested and threatened like never before.
The Deserted Woman exemplifies Honoré de Balzac's extraordinary literary ability that has influenced esteemed authors such as Henry James and Charles Dickens. With intricate prose and unparalleled compassion, Honoré de Balzac explores the too-common predicament of women trapped in unhappy relationships. The Deserted Woman tells the emotional tale of the pressure society put on women and men to enter marriages that prioritized social and financial compatibility over a real, mutual, love connection. Though it does not exist to such an extent in Western society, Balzac's The Deserted Woman invites readers to consider how this spirit of unhealthy marriages is still alive in modern relationships. Balzac dedicated much of his career to the pursuit of capturing all aspects of society with his realist lens, creating celebrated work that influences the perspective of society.
This edition of The Deserted Woman by Honoré de Balzac features a striking new cover design and is reprinted in a modern, easy-to-read font, creating an approachable reading experience for a contemporary audience.
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A Woman of Thirty
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 22 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
A Woman of Thirty by Honoré de Balzac. Translated by Ellen Marriage
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Pere Goriot
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 23 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Considered to be one of Balzac's most important works, "Pere Goriot" is the story of its title character Jean-Joachim Goriot, a mysterious criminal-in-hiding named Vautrin, and a naive law student named Eugène de Rastignac. We are introduced to the characters at Maison Vauquer, a boarding house owned by the widow Madame Vauquer. Central to the theme of the book is the struggle to achieve upper-class status in society. Rastignac is eager to achieve this upper-class standing but is unfamiliar to the ways of Parisian society. Vautrin tries to convince Rastignac to pursue an unmarried woman named Victorine, a dubious suggestion which involves the disposal of her brother who blocks access to the woman's fortune. The failings to achieve this upper-class status are exemplified by Goriot who has bankrupted himself in supporting his two well-married daughters, who despite the fact reject him. A classic and tragic story, "Pere Goriot" is one of the most pivotal works in Balzac's sweeping novel sequence "La Comedie Humaine", which endeavors to depict the social panoramic of the human condition. This edition follows the translation of Ellen Marriage, includes an introduction by R. L. Sanderson, and a biographical afterword.
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Père Goriot
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 23 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
A kind-hearted and idealistic youth enters the grasping Parisian society of the 1820s, where his education in the realities and costs of city life begin among the residents of a shabby but respectable boardinghouse. Père Goriot - one of the outstanding novels in The Human Comedy, Balzac's panoramic study of Parisian life - features richly detailed settings, a skillfully related plot, and a vibrant cast of characters. Acclaimed by critic Leslie Stephen as "the modern King Lear," it offers a timeless view of the tragedies behind the prosaic details of everyday life. Translated by Ellen Marriage.
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Old Goriot (Pere Goriot)
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 23 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Considered to be one of Balzac's most important works, "Old Goriot", or "Père Goriot", is the story of its title character Goriot; a mysterious criminal-in-hiding named Vautrin; and a naive law student named Eugène de Rastignac. We are introduced to the characters at Maison Vauquer, a boarding house owned by the widow Madame Vauquer. Central to the theme of the book is the struggle to achieve upper-class status in society. Rastignac is eager to achieve this upper-class standing but is unfamiliar to the ways of Parisian society. Vautrin tries to convince Rastignac to pursue an unmarried woman named Victorine, a dubious suggestion which involves the disposal of her brother who blocks the woman's fortune. The failings to achieve this upper-class status are exemplified by Goriot who has bankrupted himself to support his two well-married daughters, yet they reject him. A classic and tragic story, "Old Goriot" is one of the most pivotal works in Balzac's sweeping novel sequence "La Comédie Humaine", which endeavors to depict the effects of society on the entirety of the human condition.
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Father Goriot
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 23 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Pere Goriot' is the tragic story of a father whose obsessive love for his two daughters leads to his financial and personal ruin. Interwoven with this theme is that of the impoverished young aristocrat, Rastignac, come to Paris from the provinces to make his fortune, who befriends Goriot and becomes involved with the daughters. The story is set against the background of a whole society driven by social ambition and lust for money.
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Pere Goriot
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 23 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Edith Wharton's "Madame de Treymes" is a remarkable example of the form. It is the story of the tactical defeat but moral victory of an honest and upstanding American in his struggle to win a wife from a tightly united but feudally minded French aristocratic family. He loses, but they cheat... In a masterpiece of brevity, Wharton dramatizes the contrast between the two opposing forces: the simple and proper old brownstone New York, low in style but high in principle, and the achingly beautiful but decadent Saint-Germain district of Paris. The issue is seamlessly joined.
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Le Père Goriot
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 23 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Le Père Goriot is widely considered Balzac's most important novel. This is the story of the relationship between a doting father and his two adult daughters. Blinded by his love for his children, Père Goriot can not see their flaws and gives them everything they ask for even though the giving destroys him. A cautionary tale about the dangers of placing society and money before all else.
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The Marriage Contract
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 27 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
A Marriage Contract (French: Le Contrat de mariage) is an 1835 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac and included in the Scènes de la vie privée section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine. Set in Bordeaux, it describes the marriage of a Parisian gentleman, Paul de Manerville, to the beautiful but spoiled Spanish heiress, Natalie Evangelista.
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Ursula
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 29 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Ursula by Honoré de Balzac. Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley.
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Eugénie Grandet
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 30 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) produced a huge collection of novels, novellas and short stories, earning him recognition as a great master of the novel, as well as one of the creators of literary realism. He collected and arranged his works under the name "La Comédie humaine", which he then divided into eight major topics. "Eugénie Grandet" was placed in the section titled, "Scenes from Provincial Life". The story takes place in the French town of Saumur, where a miserly, but respected, man called old Grandet lives with his wife, servant, and daughter, Eugénie. Greedy and power-hungry, Grandet is a dominant force in the novel, as he is in his community and home. Unable to entirely overcome the genetic and learned behaviors inherited from her father, Eugénie Grandet is a wonderfully human character, and her ability to draw sympathy without imposing judgments on the reader is testimony to Balzac's artistic skill as a novelist.
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Eugenie Grandet
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 30 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Eugenie Grandet by Honoré de Balzac. Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley libreka classics — These are classics of literary history, reissued and made available to a wide audience.
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Eugenie Grandet
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 30 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Eugénie Grandet (1833) is a novel by French author Honoré de Balzac. Written as Balzac began to formulate the grand scale of his La Comédie humaine sequence, Eugénie Grandet was eventually tied into the universe of his epic realist masterpiece, a holistic vision of nineteenth-century French society which sought to observe the consequences of the political, religious, and economic shifts of the Revolution and in its aftermath. This novel looks to the moral failings of a particular nouveau riche family, whose accumulation of wealth has quickly erased any sense of their working-class origins.
After the Revolution, master cooper Felix Grandet married the daughter of a successful merchant, ascended in the political and social life of the town of Saumur, and quietly amassed an immense wealth through industry and inheritances from his wife's family. Now an old man, Felix possesses a fortune he feels no inclination to use, not even to improve the daily lives of his ailing wife and young adult daughter Eugénie, who faces frequent incursions from local suitors intent on marrying her to attain her father's wealth. When Felix's nephew Charles arrives from Paris with a letter from the patriarch's estranged brother Guillaume, tragic circumstances force him to choose between habitual greed and the immense pressure of performing what for anyone else would be a basic act of generosity. Eugénie Grandet is a powerful story of fortune, power, and the ease with which these lead to moral failure.
Published at the dawning of Balzac's most productive and critically-acclaimed period, this novel is not only a good introduction to his lengthy La Comédie humaine sequence, but an irreplaceable work of nineteenth-century realist literature.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Honoré de Balzac's Eugénie Grandet is a classic of French literature reimagined for modern readers.
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Eugenie Grandet
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 30 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Depicting the fatal clash between material desires and the liberating power of human passions, Honore de Balzac's "Eugenie Grandet" is translated with an introduction by M.A. Crawford in "Penguin Classics". In a gloomy house in provincial Saumur, the miser Grandet lives with his wife and daughter, Eugenie, whose lives are stifled and overshadowed by his obsession with gold. Guarding his piles of glittering treasures and his only child equally closely, he will let no one near them. But when the arrival of her handsome cousin, Charles, awakens Eugenie's own desires, her passion brings her into a violent collision with her father that results in tragedy for all. "Eugenie Grandet" is one of the earliest and finest works in Balzac's Comedie humaine cycle, which portrays a society consumed by the struggle to amass wealth and achieve power. Here Grandet embodies both the passionate pursuit of money, and the human cost of avarice. M. A. Crawford's lucid translation is accompanied by an introduction discussing the irony and psychological insight of Balzac's characterization, the role of fate in the novel, its setting and historical background. Honore De Balzac (1799-1850) failed at being a lawyer, publisher, printer, businessman, critic and politician before, at the age of thirty, turning his hand to writing. His life's work, La Comedie humaine, is a series of ninety novels and short stories which offer a magnificent panorama of nineteenth-century life after the French Revolution. Balzac was an influence on innumerable writers who followed him, including Marcel Proust, Emile Zola, Charles Dickens, and Edgar Allan Poe.
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Eugénie Grandet
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 30 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
This is the question that fills the minds of the inhabitants of Saumur, the setting for Eugénie Grandet (1833), one of the earliest and most famous novels in Balzac's Comédie humaine. The Grandet household, oppressed by the exacting miserliness of Grandet himself, is jerked violently out of routine by the sudden arrival of Eugénie's cousin Charles, recently orphaned and penniless. Eugénie's emotional awakening, stimulated by her love for her cousin, brings her into direct conflict with her father, whose cunning and financial success are matched against her determination to rebel. Eugénie's moving story is set against the backdrop of provincial oppression, the vicissitudes of the wine trade, and the workings of the financial system in the aftermath of the French Revolution. It is both a poignant portrayal of private life and a vigorous fictional document of its age.
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Eugenie Grandet
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 30 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
In 'Eugénie Grandet' we are told the story of a young girl whose life is complicated by her father's incessant greed. Here we see the sins of the father visited upon the daughter as she attempts to rebel against his attitudes. Fully realized characters abound in this truly moving book.
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Eugenie Grandet
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 30 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Eugenie's father Felix is a former cooper who has become wealthy through both business ventures and inheritance. However, he is very miserly, and he, his wife, daughter and their servant Nanon live in a run-down old house which he is too miserly to repair. His banker des Grassins wishes Eugenie to marry his son Adolphe, and his lawyer Cruchot wishes Eugenie to marry his nephew President Cruchot des Bonfons, both parties eyeing the inheritance from Felix.
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The Black Sheep
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 33 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Listed by the British newspaper "The Guardian" as number 12 on a list of the 100 greatest novels of all-time, Honore de Balzac's "The Black Sheep" is another installment in his magnum opus "The Human Comedy." Agathe Rouget, who is born in Issoudun, is sent to be raised by her maternal relatives, the Descoings in Paris by her father Doctor Rouget. Agathe has two sons, Philippe and Joseph, with which the story is principally concerned. Philippe becomes a soldier in Napoleon's armies, while Joseph becomes an artist. Philippe, who is ironically his mother's favorite, is a hard drinker with a gambling problem that brings trouble to the family. The differences between the two brothers are brilliantly contrasted by Balzac as their true natures are revealed throughout the course of the work. As in the rest of "The Human Comedy" Balzac criticizes the value that is placed on wealth and beautifully illustrates the conflict that arises out of the ambition to achieve a place in the aristocratic society of France.
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The Two Brothers
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 33 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
A fantastic novel by French novelist and playwright Honore de Balzac.
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Lost Illusions
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 38 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Balzac is regarded as one of the founders of realism in European literature. He is renowned for his multi-faceted characters; even his lesser characters are complex, morally ambiguous, and fully human. Inanimate objects are imbued with character as well; the city of Paris, a backdrop for much of his writing, takes on many human qualities.
Lost Illusions concerns Lucien de Rubempré, a young poet trying to make a name for himself, who becomes trapped in the morass of society's darkest contradictions that ultimately destroy him.
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Lost Illusions
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 38 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
One of the most famous of Honore de Balzac's novels, "Lost Illusions" paints a faithful picture of the spectacular but superficial world of mid-19th century French society, and the indissoluble relationship between the bourgeois and aristocratic classes. Originally published serially from 1837 to 1843, the story features the main characters Lucien Chardon, a vain and naïve poet and journalist, and his friend and brother-in-law David Sechard, an innovative, hard-working young printer from the provincial Angouleme, with aspirations to revolutionize the production of paper and provide for his new family. The victim of a callous father and unscrupulous competitors, David finds himself in constant turmoil from the reckless exploits and betrayals of his friend Lucien. Lucien, in contrast, is full of grand dreams and aspirations and must leave for Paris as the result of a scandalous affair. He seeks fame and fortune in the city as a poet, while his impetuous actions wreak havoc for many at home. Readers will be drawn to the intertwined stories of these two men in a novel that exemplifies the eternal battles of love, ambition, greed, loyalty, vanity, and betrayal. This edition follows the translation of Ellen Marriage and includes a biographical afterword.
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Lost Illusions
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 38 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
The story of Lucien Chardon, a young poet from Angoulême who tries desperately to make a name for himself in Paris, is a brilliantly realistic and boldly satirical portrait of provincial manners and aristocratic life. Handsome and ambitious but naïve, Lucien is patronized by the beau monde as represented by Madame de Bargeton and her cousin, the formidable Marquise d'Espard, only to be duped by them. Denied the social rank he thought would be his, Lucien discards his poetic aspirations and turns to hack journalism; his descent into Parisian low life ultimately leads to his own death.
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Lost Illusions
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 38 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Lucien Chardon, the son of a lower middle-class father and an impoverished mother of remote aristocratic descent, is the pivotal figure of the entire work. Living at Angouleme, he is impoverished, impatient, handsome and ambitious. His widowed mother, his sister Eve and his best friend, David Sechard, do nothing to lessen his high opinion of his own talents, for it is an opinion they share.
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Lost Illusions
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 38 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Perhaps the most famous of Balzac's novels, Lost Illusions paints a faithful picture of the spectacular but superficial world of contemporary society, and the indissoluble relationship between the bourgeois and aristocratic classes. Set in nineteenth century France, David Séchard is an innovative, hard-working young printer from Angoulême with aspirations to revolutionize the production of paper and provide for his new family. The victim of a callous father and unscrupulous competitors, David finds himself in constant turmoil from the reckless exploits of his friend and brother-in-law, Lucien Chardon. Lucien, a vain and naïve young poet, is drawn away to Paris as a result of a scandalous affair, where his impetuous actions wreak havoc for many back home. Follow the intertwined stories of these two men in a novel that exemplifies the eternal battles of love, ambition, greed, loyalty, vanity, and betrayal.
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A Harlot High and Low
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 41 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Originally published between: 1838-1847 "A Harlot High and Low" continues the story of Lucien de Rubempré from Honore de Balzac's preceding novel "Lost Illusions." Central to the tale is the pact made between Lucien and Vautrin in which Lucien will arrive at success in Paris if he agrees to follow Vautrin's instructions on how to do so. A love affair between the beautiful Esther van Gobseck and Lucien creates a conflict for their plans of bringing Lucien to his desired exaltation though. When Vautrin realizes that wealthy Baron de Nucingen has fallen in love with Esther he conspires to use the Baron's affection with Esther to help advance Lucien. What follows is a series of tragic consequences. Another chapter in Balzac's magnum opus, "The Human Comedy," "A Harlot High and Low" is at once a biting commentary of French aristocratic society and examination of the criminal underworld in which Vautrin is so very well at home.
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Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 42 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan by Honoré de Balzac. Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley
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Sarrasine
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 44 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Sarrasine (1831) is a novella by French author Honoré de Balzac. Written as part of his La Comédie humaine sequence, Sarrasine is one of Balzac's earliest works published without a pseudonym and helped to establish his reputation as a serious writer and distinguished member of Parisian high society. Noted for its controversial exploration of homosexuality and castration, Balzac's novella would become the subject of Roland Barthe's groundbreaking work of literary criticism, S/Z (1970).
Composed as a frame narrative, Sarrasine begins during a ball at the mansion of the wealthy Monsieur de Lanty. The unnamed narrator, from a window overlooking the garden, listens to the conversations of partygoers and watches as his guest, Beatrix Rochefide, is approached by a mysterious older man. The next night, the narrator tells Beatrix a story involving the man, a respected member of de Lanty's circle. He begins with the life of Ernest-Jean Sarrasine, a successful young sculptor who, on a trip to Rome, fell in love with an opera star named Zambinella. Convinced she represents the ideal feminine form, he rejects Zambinella's misgivings and vague excuses, becoming increasingly obsessed with the beautiful singer. Devising a plan to kidnap Zambinella during a party at the French embassy, Sarrasine discovers the truth: the singer is a castrato, a classical operatic performer who was selected and castrated before puberty. Sarrasine, a powerful novella, explores themes of idealization and obsession while illuminating the conflation of sex and gender.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Honoré de Balzac's Sarrasine is a classic of French literature reimagined for modern readers.
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A Man of Business
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 46 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Though a relatively short story, "A Man of Business" is an important component of Honoré de Balzac's vast story cycle The Human Comedy, involving many of the recurring characters from the series and tying up a number of loose ends. As a fete thrown at the home of his mistress begins to wind down, Cardot invites the lingering merrymakers to settle around the table and begins telling a story about a clever debt-collection scheme. As part of our mission to publish great works of literary fiction and nonfiction, Sheba Blake Publishing Corp. is extremely dedicated to bringing to the forefront the amazing works of long dead and truly talented authors.
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A Prince of Bohemia
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 47 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
This short vignette from Honoré de Balzac, a key figure in French realism, is a story within a story. The narrator, Nathan, regales a pair of aristocratic ladies with stories about the Rusticoli family and its most prominent member, La Palferine. At first, his audience is unappreciative, but over time, they become wrapped up in the multi-generational saga. As part of our mission to publish great works of literary fiction and nonfiction, Sheba Blake Publishing Corp. is extremely dedicated to bringing to the forefront the amazing works of long dead and truly talented authors.
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The Brotherhood of Consolation
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 52 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Honoré de Balzac, a renowned French novelist and playwright, is known for his keen observation of detail and unfiltered representation of society. Balzac is regarded as one of the founders of realism in European literature, and praised for his multifaceted characters, who are morally ambiguous.
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Cousin Bette
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 56 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Cousin Bette (1846) is a novel by French author Honoré de Balzac. Part of Balzac's La Comédie humaine sequence, the novel is recognized as being the author's last fully-realized work, and features several characters who appear elsewhere throughout his legendary series. It has inspired several film and television adaptations, as well as earned comparisons to Shakespeare's Othello and Tolstoy's War and Peace.
The novel focuses on the life and exploits of Bette Fischer, a 42-year-old woman whose bitterness at remaining unmarried-despite several proposals by men she deemed unworthy-drives her to ruin the reputations and lives of her extended family. After rescuing the young sculptor Wenceslas Steinbock from suicide, Bette develops a complex affection for the man. When he falls in love with Hortense, the daughter of Bette's cousin Adeline, she hatches a plan to gain revenge for this perceived personal slight. She recruits the young and beautiful Valérie Marneffe-an unhappily married woman-to seduce Adeline's husband, Baron Hector Hulot, whose uncontrolled desires and extensive vanity both test his family's loyalty and stretch their finances to the furthest possible limit. Cousin Bette is an intense psychological drama and character study that burns with the fire of Balzac's critique of French society. While exposing the depths of human immorality-particularly where money is made the center of personal relationships-Balzac manages to remind us that what makes us human is not what drives us apart, but the lengths to which we will go to cultivate love despite our basest impulses.
To read Cousin Bette is to observe the hopes, flaws, and desires of the people of nineteenth century France, but to ultimately judge ourselves. This final masterpiece of Honoré de Balzac is a testament to the skill and dedication of one of history's finest literary minds.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Honoré de Balzac's Cousin Bette is a classic of French literature reimagined for modern readers.
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Cousin Bette
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 56 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Cousin Bette by Honore de Balzac is generally considered to be the writer's most famous novels, his last great work before his death. It is a classic novel of revenge, passion, and vices. Along with her friend Valérie, the title character Bette strategizes for the overwhelming destruction of men in general and her cousin-in-law Baron Hector Hulot specifically. Hulot sacrifices his family and fortune on a series of extramarital seductions, and when he becomes interested in Valérie, she and Bette concoct a plan that will cost the Hulot family their happiness. Bette's actions lead her entire family to self-destruct due to her insatiable rage and manipulative tactics. Balancing the immoral characters is the virtuous Adeline, Hulot's wife. Her moral nature and forgiving personality give the dysfunctional family a touch of decency. The story examines the typical moralistic themes that are mirrored in Balzac's earlier works. Also present are Balzac's uncensored opinions and depictions of society, contrasted with the stereotypes of men and women during the high points of French culture during the 19th century. Critics also praise the novel for its realism and use of historical content and accuracy. Some even consider it the original naturalist text, saying that the society and environment has a direct effect in shaping human character.
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Cousin Bette
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 56 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Set in mid-19th century Paris, it tells the story of an unmarried middle-aged woman who plots the destruction of her extended family.
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Cousin Pons
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 57 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Cousin Pons (1847) is a novel by French author Honoré de Balzac. One of the final works in Balzac's La Comédie humaine sequence, Cousin Pons originally began as a novella before being extended to the length of a novel. It serves as both a beautiful meditation on the nature of Platonic male friendship and a vitriolic condemnation of the vanity and greed of the French bourgeoisie. In typical fashion, however, Balzac also turns a critical eye to the lower class, ensuring his uniquely holistic vision of French society spares no one-and leaves no stone unturned.
When he isn't performing with a Parisian boulevard orchestra, Sylvain Pons can be found in deep conversation with his good friend Wilhelm Schmucke, admiring his collection of paintings, or enjoying a gourmet meal with his cousins, M. and Mme. Camusot de Marville, whose food he greatly prefers to that of his landlady's, Mme. Cibot. Pons' life and company are of little interest to anyone other than his friend Wilhelm-by family and acquaintances, he is treated at best with tolerance, and at worst with disdain. After failing to find a suitable match for their daughter Cécile-which Pons attempts as a form of repayment for his shared meals with the Camusots-his cousins dispel him from their home and lives for good. But when they discover the value of his art collection-as do Mme. Cibot and several shady characters of the lower classes-a mad scramble ensues that threatens Sylvain Pons' gentle nature as well as his life.
Cousin Pons, a subtle and underrated novel by Honoré de Balzac, takes an unforgiving look at the consequences of greed as well exposes the imbalance between the economic and aesthetic values of art.
With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Honoré de Balzac's Cousin Pons is a classic of French literature reimagined for modern readers.
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Cousin Pons
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 57 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Written as a companion piece to "Cousin Bette," "Cousin Pons" is another tale displaying Honore de Balzac's contempt for nineteenth-century French society. The aged musician Sylvain Pons has very little in his life. His only happiness comes from dining with his extended family and from admiring his antique collection. However, his distant relatives hold contempt for the meager Pons and disdain for his treasures. Yet, when the family discovers that Pons' prized collection is actually quite valuable, they begin to whittle away at the man and his possessions, slowing taking away the only prized things in his life. Serving as a tragic comedy, with "Cousin Pons," Balzac wanted to make a statement about how society can mistreat its citizens when the focus is on possessions rather than happiness. As is typical of most Balzac stories, there are very few redeeming characters; each person falls short of genuinely caring about each other. This story is found in "The Human Comedy," a large collection of interlinked short stories and novellas Balzac wrote describing life in the French Restoration period. While "The Human Comedy" is one of his finest works, Balzac is also a renowned playwright. His close examinations of French society are hailed as prime examples of realism and the social condition of all classes. In his works, rather than individuals causing their own strife, social problems are caused by class, money, and ambition.
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A Passion in the Desert
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 63 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
During Napoleon's campaign in Egypt, one French soldier becomes separated from his regiment and finds himself wandering lost in the desert. Just when he has given up all hope, he makes an unlikely friend. This highly allegorical short story gives readers an opportunity to ponder the nature of love and human relationships. As part of our mission to publish great works of literary fiction and nonfiction, Sheba Blake Publishing Corp. is extremely dedicated to bringing to the forefront the amazing works of long dead and truly talented authors.
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The Wild Ass's Skin
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 68 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
"The Wild Ass's Skin" is Honoré de Balzac's 1831 novel that tells the story of a young man, Raphaël de Valentin, who discovers a piece of shagreen, in this case a rough untanned piece of a wild ass's skin, which has the magical property of granting wishes. However the fulfillment of the wisher's desire comes at a cost, after each wish the skin shrinks a little bit and consumes the physical energy of the wisher. The Wild Ass's Skin is at once both a work of incredible realism, in the descriptions of Parisian life and culture at the time, and also a work of supernatural fantasy, in the desires that are fulfilled by the wild ass's skin. Balzac uses this fantastical device masterfully to depict the complexity of the human nature in civilized society.
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The Magic Skin
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 68 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Set in early 19th-century Paris, it tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire. For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of his physical energy. La Peau de chagrin belongs to the Etudes philosophiques group of Balzac's sequence of novels.
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Adieu
by Honoré De Balzac
Part 76 of the La Comédie Humaine (English) series
Adieu by Honoré de Balzac. Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley
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