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Another Study of Woman is a narrative hovering between a short story and a novella in terms of length, extracted from Honore de Balzac's multi-volume masterpiece The Human Comedy. At a private dinner party, guests warmed by the flush of fine food and drink begin to banter about the qualities and attributes that characterize the ideal woman. Gradually, the guests begin to reminisce about their own experiences and encounters with perfect
...This novella is part of the Scenes from Private Life section of Honore de Balzac's sprawling story cycle The Human Comedy. Trapped in a maddeningly frustrating love triangle and unable to express his true feelings to his beloved, protagonist Paz invents an imaginary mistress to use as an excuse for his lovesickness and increasing alienation from his group of friends.
3) The Red Inn
Like many of the short stories in Honore de Balzac's vast story cycle The Human Comedy, The Red Inn is a tale within a tale. After a pleasant dinner at the Red Inn, guests begin to swap anecdotes. German businessman Hermann contributes to the discussion with a story about a French soldier who was imprisoned after being unjustly accused of committing a murder.
One of the earliest pieces Balzac penned for his sweeping story cycle The Human Comedy, this novella is found in the Scenes of Private Life section of the series. Social climber Emilie de Fontaine is a petulant brat who is determined to marry for status. One night at an opulent party, she falls in love at first sight with the dashing, aristocratic Maximilien. Is he good enough to fulfill her mile-long list of requirements for a spouse?
...This diptych is part of Honore de Balzac's epic masterpiece, The Human Comedy. It comprises two stories, Cousin Betty and Cousin Pons, each of which delve deeply into complicated family dynamics and the long-lasting impact of seemingly trivial conflicts.
One of the unifying themes that wends its way through Honore de Balzac's immense body of work is the corrupting danger of greed—and the often-absurd lengths to which people will go to secure material wealth. In the wonderful novel Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau, the title character starts out as a successful perfume-maker who is gradually lured to the dark side by the promise of ill-gotten gains.
7) Adieu
The longish short story Adieu is an excerpt from Honore de Balzac's sweeping masterpiece The Human Comedy. A ghost story of sorts, this tragic tale recounts the blossoming romance of two lovers whose relationship is torn asunder by the vagaries of war. When they reunite by chance years later, there is nothing left to be salvaged.
The short novel The Marriage Contract is part of the Scenes from Private Life section of Honore de Balzac's epic masterpiece of nineteenth-century realism, The Human Comedy. It delves directly into the question of the nature of marriage, which was rapidly evolving during the period. Kind-hearted bachelor Paul de Manerville becomes deeply smitten with the comely Natalie Evangelista and wants to marry for love, but Natalie and
...The novel A Start in Life is part of the Scenes of Private Life section of Honore 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.
...10) Ursula
This novel is one of the pillars of the Scenes of Provincial Life section of Honore de Balzac's story cycle The Human Comedy. Through a series of tragedies and coincidences, a kind and pious teenager named Ursula has been taken in by an octogenarian doctor, Denis Minoret. Inspired by Ursula's goodness, Minoret decides to make her his chief heir. This incites the ire of his other relatives, and a ruthless war for Minoret's estate breaks
...This short novel, part of the Scenes of Private Life section of Honore 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.
Hardened criminal Jacques Collin has been hiding under the guise of a false identity in order to escape the long arm of the law. In the novel Scenes from a Courtesan's Life, however, Collin's deceptions seem finally to have caught up with him. Will he be able to pull off the labyrinthine scheme cooked up to secure his freedom?
13) Vendetta
Fans of Romeo and Juliet will delight in the novella Vendetta, Honore de Balzac's unique take on the timeless theme of star-crossed lovers. Corsican immigrants Ginevra Piombo and Luigi Porta fall hopelessly in love, unaware of the fact that their respective families have long been ensnared in a multi-generational blood feud. Will they be able to live happily ever after in spite of their unhappy heritage?
Today, French writer Honore de Balzac is best remembered for The Human Comedy, a sprawling story cycle in which he attempted—and some would argue, succeeded—to capture the ebb and flow of everyday life in nineteenth-century Europe. But Balzac was an intrepid literary experimenter, and his prolific output encompassed every form and genre. The Resources of Quinola is a drama set in the Spanish Inquisition.
15) The Purse
The Purse is a short story that makes up part of Honore de Balzac's epic cycle The Human Comedy. Daydreaming while working on a ladder, the painter Hippolyte Schinner accidentally falls and sustains an injury. Two neighbors—a mother and daughter—come to his aid, and he falls in love at first sight with the beautiful young woman, Adelaide. But over time, he begins to notice that the veneer of aristocratic gentility that
...16) The Thirteen
This series of three novellas is unified by an overarching motif: in all three tales, a mysterious secret society known as The Thirteen is at work behind the scenes. The men in the group have pledged eternal loyalty to each other, and if any member ever finds himself in peril, it is the sworn duty of the others to come to his aid. Honore de Balzac uses this premise as a device to explore a wide range of topics, including clashes between
...Part of the massive series that some regard as one of the masterworks of nineteenth-century realism, Honore de Balzac's The Human Comedy, the novel The Country Doctor focuses on Dr. Benassis, a physician by trade, who has deep-seated beliefs about social equality. While treating a prominent patient, Benassis expounds at length on his value system and discusses some of the reforms that he has helped to implement in the town.
18) Pierre Grassou
This short story is part of the Scenes of Paris Life section of Honore de Balzac's epic masterpiece The Human Comedy. Pierre Grassou is an artist who has many of the attributes necessary for success—but lacks that spark of creativity. Rather than painting original works, he begins painting copies of the great masterworks. Sure, it's financially lucrative, but will it be enough to allow Grassou to find happiness?
In this long story, part of the Philosophical Studies section of Honore de Balzac's epic masterwork The Human Comedy, the author takes the uncharacteristic step of alluding to a previously published novel, Charles Robert Maturin's 1820 work Melmoth the Wanderer. In Balzac's Melmoth Reconciled, Melmoth is a mysterious figure who comes to the aid of a desperate clerk who is on the brink of committing a crime.
This novel is part of the Scenes of Private Life section of Honore de Balzac's sweeping saga The Human Comedy. Renowned artist Theodore de Sommervieux falls head-over-heels in love with the beautiful, refined Augustine Guillaume, and soon the besotted pair are married. But after a blissful honeymoon period, the couple discovers that sometimes love is not enough to make a marriage work.