Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850)

A photo of Balzac

Biographical note

Nineteenth-century French novelist, one of the creators of Realism in literature. His Human Comedy (La Comédie humaine), spanning more than 90 novels and short stories, is a broad, often satirical panorama of French society, particularly the petite bourgeoisie, in the years after the fall of Napoléon Bonaparte.

Along with Gustave Flaubert (whose work he influenced), Balzac is generally regarded as a founding father of realism in European literature. Balzac's novels, most of which are farcical comedies, feature a large cast of well-defined characters, and descriptions in exquisite detail of the scene of action.

See also:

Works

Balzac's final plan (1845) of the Comédie Humaine is as follows :

Studies of Manners

Scenes From Private Life

Scenes From Provincial Life

  • Ursule Mirouet [ read | download ]
  • Eugénie Grandet [ read | download ]
  • The Celibates:
    • Pierrette
    • The Vicar of Tours
  • A Bachelor's Establishment
  • The Two Brothers
  • The Black Sheep
  • Parisians in the Country:
    • Gaudissart the Great; or The Illustrious Gaudissart
    • The Muse of the Department
  • The Jealousies of a Country Town:
    • The Old Maid
    • The Collection of Antiquities
  • The Lily of the Valley
  • Lost Illusions (Les Illusions perdues):

Scenes From Parisian Life

  • Scenes from a Courtesan's Life (Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes): [ read | download ]
    • Esther Happy
    • What Love Costs an Old Man
    • The End of Evil Ways
    • Vautrin's Last Avatar
  • A Prince of Bohemia
  • A Man of Business
  • Gaudissart II
  • The Unwitting Actors or The Unwitting Comedians
  • The Thirteen:
    • Ferragus
    • The Duchesse de Langeais
    • The Girl with the Golden Eyes
  • Father Goriot (Le Père Goriot) [ read | download ]
  • The Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau
  • The Firm of Nucingen
  • The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan
  • The Government Clerks
  • Bureaucracy
  • Sarrasine
  • Facino Cane
  • Poor Relations:--
    • Cousin Bette (La Cousine Bette)
    • Cousin Pons
  • The Middle Classes or The Lesser Bourgeoise

Scenes From Political Life

  • The Gondreville Mystery or An Historical Mystery
  • An Episode Under the Terror
  • The Seamy Side of History: or The Brotherhood of Consolation:
    • Madame de la Chanterie
    • Initiated or The Initiate
  • Z. Marcas
  • The Member for Arcis or The Deputy for Arcis

Scenes From Military Life

  • The Chouans
  • A Passion in the Desert

Scenes From Country Life

  • The Country Doctor
  • The Country Parson or The Village Rector
  • The Peasantry or Sons of the Soil

Philosophical Studies

  • The Magic Skin /The Wild Ass's Skin (La Peau de Chagrin) [ read | download ]
  • The Quest of the Absolute or The Alkahest
  • Christ in Flanders
  • Melmoth Reconciled
  • The Unknown Masterpiece or The Hidden Masterpiece
  • The Hated Son
  • Gambara
  • Massimilla Doni
  • The Maranas or Juana
  • Farewell
  • Adieu
  • The Conscript or The Recruit
  • El Verdugo
  • A Seaside Tragedy or A Drama on the Seashore
  • The Red Inn
  • The Elixir of Life
  • Maitre Cornelius
  • About Catherine de' Medici
    • The Calvinist Martyr
    • The Ruggieri's Secret
    • The Two Dreams
  • Louis Lambert
  • The Exiles
  • Seraphita

Analytical Studies

  • Physiology of Marriage
  • Pathology of the Social Life

Other links

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