"The Government Clerks" from Honore de Balzac. Nineteenth-century French novelist and playwright (1799-1850)."

"The Imaginary Mistress" from Honore de Balzac. Nineteenth-century French novelist and playwright (1799-1850)."

"The Middle Classes" from Honore de Balzac. Nineteenth-century French novelist and playwright (1799-1850)."

Al lector: al comienzo de su carrera literaria recibio el autor; de manos de un amigo muerto hacia tiempo, el tema de esta obra, que mas tarde encontro en una antologia a principios de este siglo; y, segun sus conjeturas, se trata de una fantasia creada por Hoffmann de Berlin, publicada en algun almanaque aleman y olvidada por sus editores. La Comedie Humaine es lo suficientemente original para que el autor pueda confesar una copia inocente; como La Fontaine, ha tratado a su manera, y sin saberlo, un hecho ya contado. Esto no ha sido una broma como estaba de moda en 1830, epoca en la que todo...

Petrilla. HONORE DE BALZAC Francia 1799 - 1850"

Father Goriot
Honore de Balzac (1799 - 1850)
One of Balzac's most popular works, set around 1815 during the re-ascendancy of the Bourbon kings following the defeat of Napoleon. Said to have been an inspiration to Charles Dickens and Henry James as well as others, the novel seeks to portray the realism of scenes and people. It is also a commentary upon the changing social strata and mores of the day."

A Woman of Thirty
Honore de Balzac (1799 - 1850)
In this story heroine Julie is attending with her ailing father one of Napoleon's reviews of his troops. It is after the debacle in Russia, but the Old Guard still knows how to put on a show. The lovely young girl is dazzled by Colonel Victor d'Aiglemont, a dashing young adjutant who gallops by. The father notices Julie's fascination and shakes his head anxiously, knowing that the young man is unworthy of her."