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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.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-020-1

This short section of Honore de Balzac's vast story cycle The Human Comedy unfolds against the beautiful backdrop of the western coast of France. A couple on vacation have a chance encounter with a fisherman. After chit-chatting for a while, they take him up on his offer to shuttle them to a nearby island. Along the way, he recounts a heartbreaking local legend that puts a damper on the trip.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-348-6

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.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-008-9

In this novella from Honore 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?
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-62013-970-7

Known for his keen observations and finely drawn characters, Honore de Balzac is regarded as one of the forerunners of the literary realism movement that swept Europe in the nineteenth century. A Woman of Thirty offers an unflinching look at the layers of social oppression that dictated the course of many women's lives during the era.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-62011-823-8

An extract from Honore de Balzac's vast story cycle The Human Comedy, the novel Albert Savarus details the dramatic twists and turns in a budding love affair between Albert, a young lawyer with literary ambitions, and a beautiful but conniving young woman named Rosalie. Though the story unfolds in a manner not unlike a typical romance, the surprise ending will leave readers reeling.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-034-8

Step back in history through the eyes of one of the masters of European realism. This keenly observed and utterly absorbing account of the period after Napoleon Bonaparte fell from power in nineteenth-century France is both an interesting historical document and an engrossing mystery.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-62012-385-0

This section of The Human Comdedy, the multi-volume series of stories, tales, and essays that comprised most Honore de Balzac's life's work, focuses on love and marriage as they existed in early nineteenth-century Europe. An eclectic collection of essays, satirical observations, short tales, and character sketches, this unique excerpt is an interesting introduction to Balzac's writing.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-032-4

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.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-029-4

This fascinating novel from French master Honore de Balzac was published just as the age of bureaucracy was kicking into high gear in the mid-nineteenth century. Balzac delves deeply into the labyrinthine workings of a French agency, conveying the machinations, political alliances, and complex characters with astonishing texture and detail.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-025-6

This short tale is part of the Philosophical Studies section of Honore de Balzac's The Human Comedy. Almost fable-like in tone, it recounts a boat ride carrying a group of passengers that represent a broad cross-section of society. When a sudden storm hits, chaos ensues, and each passenger's reaction speaks volumes about his or her moral compass.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-024-9

The crown jewel in a remarkable literary career, Cousin Bette is regarded by many critics to be Balzac's last great work before his death in 1850. A fine example of European realist fiction, the story recounts the attempt of a disgruntled housewife to bring about the misery and destruction of her entire extended family. Fans of Tolstoy's War and Peace will enjoy Cousin Bette.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-62012-299-0

A daughter inherits her father's miserliness, which stifles her relationship with her cousin, making love an unsatisfying experience. As with Balzac's other work, his characters in Eugenie Grandet are fully and realistically portrayed. Balzac began to conceive his great work The Human Comedy whilst writing this novel, and the characters herein are reworked in his comedy.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-62011-071-3

The short story Facino Cane has been categorized as both a "Philosophical Study" and a "Scene of Paris Life" in various editions of French writer Honore de Balzac's sprawling series The Human Comedy. The narrator is attending a wedding and takes an interest in one of the musicians performing at the event, an elderly blind man with a compellingly wizened visage. After being prompted, the musician, named Marco-Facino Cane, spills his surprising and tragic life story.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-343-1

This collection brings together two short stories, one from the father of French realism, Honore de Balzac, the other from Russian writer Alexander Amphiteatrof. Both of the tales are related to Napoleon in some way, examining the impact of the famed leader's exploits on the national cultures of the French and the Russians.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-504-6

An extract from Honore de Balzac's sweeping novel cycle The Human Comedy, Gobseck is a novella that recounts the social ascendancy of young Anastasie de Restaud. Born into a wealthy family, Anastasie marries into aristocracy, but soon grows weary of the arcane rituals of her new lifestyle—not to mention her lack of feelings toward her husband. Seeking passion, she makes several bold decisions and quickly finds herself on the road to ruin.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-339-4

Predating Edgar Allen Poe's remarkably similar story The Cask of Amontillado by more than a decade, Honore de Balzac's chilling tale La Grande Breteche centers on a mysterious manor that sits abandoned in a town in central France. When a physician becomes curious about the estate and begins to question locals about it, he gradually unfurls a horrifying secret.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-338-7

This richly drawn epistolary tale recounts the correspondence between two young women whose friendship evolves as they embark on marriage and motherhood. Although both have a distinctly different outlook, their shared observations and memories bring the beauty and difficulty of these experiences vividly to life.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-62011-827-6

Master of realism Honore de Balzac highlights his brilliant knack for character development in the short story Madame Firmiani. The story's plot is slight, dealing in large part with the mysterious identity of Madame Firmiani's husband. As always, where Balzac truly shines is in delving into the nuance of human behavior and personality.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-015-7

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.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-012-6

Set among the sprawling vineyards of France's Loire Valley, Balzac's novel Parisians in the Country follows the life of one Dinah Piedefer, a beautiful and talented young woman who finds herself trapped in a not-so-perfect marriage. Though she is initially content, she gradually begins to bristle against the constraints of her union and the provincial shabbiness of her lifestyle.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-009-6

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?
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-63421-006-5

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.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-62013-972-1

French writer Honore de Balzac had many unique strengths, and chief among them is his ability to limn and illuminate subtle differences between social classes. In this pastoral novel, Balzac explores the virtues and follies of country life through the eyes of Emile Blondet, a journalist who was born and raised in the provinces, works in Paris, and has returned to the countryside of his youth for a much-needed vacation.
Standort: Overdrive Onleihbibliothek
ISBN: 978-1-62013-969-1