Name: Cousin Bette
SKU: 57081933
Price: 19.77 EUR
Availability: InStock
Author: Honoré De Balzac

Type

Physical Book

Author

Honoré De Balzac

Translated by

James Waring

Publisher

Digireads.com

Language

English

Pages

326

Format

Paperback

Dimensions

21.6x14x1.9 cm

Weight

0.41 kg.

ISBN13

9781420968644

Synopsis "Cousin Bette"

Honore de Balzac "Cousin Bette" is generally considered to be one of the writer's most famous novels, his last great work before his death. It is a classic novel of revenge, passion, and vices. Along with her friend Valérie, the title character Bette strategizes for the overwhelming destruction of men in general and her cousin-in-law Baron Hector Hulot specifically. Hulot sacrifices his family and fortune on a series of extramarital seductions, and when he becomes interested in Valérie, she and Bette concoct a plan that will cost the Hulot family their happiness. Bette's actions lead her entire family to self-destruct due to her insatiable rage and manipulative tactics. Balancing the immoral characters is the virtuous Adeline, Hulot's wife. Her moral nature and forgiving personality give the dysfunctional family a touch of decency. The story examines the typical moralistic themes that are mirrored in Balzac's earlier works. Also present are Balzac's uncensored opinions and depictions of society, contrasted with the stereotypes of men and women during the high points of French culture during the 19th century. Critics also praise the novel for its realism and use of historical content and accuracy. This edition follows the translation of Ellen Marriage, pseudonymously as James Waring, and is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Honoré De Balzac

(Author)

View Author's Page

Honoré de Balzac (1799-1851), novelist, playwright, literary and art critic, essayist, journalist, and French printer, is considered one of the great writers of realism. Born in Tours, in 1814 he moved to Paris, where he studied law and began working in a law firm, but his love for literature drove him to abandon his career and dedicate himself to writing. He undertook several businesses, which ended in failure and left him in debt. With The Last Chouan (1829), he achieved great success. From then on, he began a feverish activity, writing, among others, The Physiology of Marriage (1829) and The Wild Ass's Skin (1831), with which he began to consolidate his prestige. In 1834, Balzac, a tireless worker, conceived the idea of making an exhaustive portrait of French society of his time by having the same characters appear in different stories, which began to give his work a unitary sense under the title of The Human Comedy, to which belong titles such as Eugénie Grandet (1833), Father Goriot (1835), Splendors and Miseries of Courtesans (1838-1847) or Cousin Bette (1846), although of the 137 novels that were to make it up, fifty remained incomplete. An extraordinary writer, capable of deploying in his works sublime reflections and ideas, creating an interesting story with strong social criticism through exquisite prose of great poetic level and philosophical depth, Balzac is considered the founder of the modern novel.

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