Little French Masterpieces
Published on 6. May 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
238 pages
978-0-9971590-8-0 (ISBN)
Description
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright, born in 1799 in Tours, France. His father was Secretary to the King's Council and a Freemason, and his mother came from a wealthy family of haberdashers. Balzac had difficulty with the strict nature of his early schooling, and was often sent to punishment in a small isolated cell. This caused early health problems that plagued him throughout his life-exacerbated by his rigorous writing schedule. Balzac is viewed as one of the founders of realism in European literature, creating complex characters who are flawed, morally ambiguous, and absolutely human. Many of his works have been translated into other languages, and made into movies, and he influenced many other well known writers, including Gustave Flaubert, Victor Hugo, and Charles Dickens.
This bilingual edition is designed to assist those learning French. The original French text appears on the right-hand pages of the book, with the corresponding English translation on the right-hand pages.
More details
Language
English
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
393 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-9971590-8-0 (9780997159080)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and dramatist who lived from 1799 to 1850. One of the most significant writers of the 19th century, he is regarded as such. Many people believe La Comédie Humaine, his masterwork, to be his finest work. His mother was Anne-Charlotte-Laure Sallambier, and his father was Bernard-François Balssa. He was the Balzacs' second child. Honoré Balzac spent his first two years of life living with a wet nurse after being abandoned as a newborn. From the age of 10, Balzac attended the Oratorian grammar school in Vendôme. "Look at the beautiful ones we sent the academy back!" was how his grandma put it. On a bridge over the River Loire, he attempted suicide. Balzac wrote El Verdugo shortly after his father died. It is the story of a 30-year-old man who kills his father (Balzac was 30 years old at the time). This was Honoré de Balzac's first piece of work. After courting her for five years, Balzac wed Countess Eve de Balzac (formerly Countess Haska) in Ukraine in 1850. On Sunday, August 18, 1850, five months after his wedding, Balzac died in the company of his mother; Eve de Balzac (previously Countess Haska) having retired to bed. Balzac is buried in Paris' Père Lachaise Cemetery.