Dr. Benassis is a doctor and a village major. Thanks to him, the once poor village has started to blossom. The village is getting richer and richer, and also the villagers seem very happy about the situation. When commander Genestas arrives at the village, Dr. Benassis tells him about the changes he has made in the town. The two of them build a special friendship – without knowing that both of them also carry secrets.

The first part of Modeste Mignon is based on a traditional species of folktale known as La fille mal gardée ("The Ill-Watched Girl"), in which a young woman takes a lover despite the close attentions of her guardians, who are determined to preserve her chastity for a more suitable match. Modeste Mignon, a young provincial woman of romantic temperament, imagines herself to be in love with the famous Parisian poet Melchior de Canalis, whose works have...

In 1815 Mlle. Rose Marie Victoire Cormon, the old maid, turns 42. Despite her financial security and social status, she has still not managed to find a suitable man to marry. Mademoiselle Cormon is known to be socially awkward and seems oblivious to the usual signs that a man is interested in her. And still, at this age, she manages to attract the romantic interest of three very different men. Who is the best option for Mademoiselle Cormon? Are...

Set in early 19th-century Paris, it tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire. For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of his physical energy. La Peau de chagrin belongs to the Etudes philosophiques group of Balzac's sequence of novels.

At the shabby boarding house in the rue Neuve-Sainte-Geneviève, petty Madame Vauquer and her tenants wonder at the plight of the aging resident Goriot. Once a well-heeled merchant, Goriot was--at first--afforded special treatment from the Madame. But now something is clearly amiss in his financial affairs, and his increasingly tawdry appearance makes him a subject of ridicule in the household. Some think he lost in the markets, others see him as...

Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) produced a huge collection of novels, novellas and short stories, earning him recognition as a great master of the novel, as well as one of the creators of literary realism. He collected and arranged his works under the name "La Comédie humaine", which he then divided into eight major topics. "Eugénie Grandet" was placed in the section titled, "Scenes from Provincial Life". The story takes place in the French town of...

Cousin Bette (1846) is considered to be Balzac's last great novel, and a key work in his Human Comedy. Set in the Paris of the 1830s and 1840s, it is a complex tale of the devastating effect of violent jealousy and sexual passion. Against a meticulously detailed backdrop of a post-Napoleonic France struggling with massive industrial and economic change, Balzac's characters span many classes of society, from impoverished workers and wealthy courtesans...

One of renowned French author Honore de Balzac's finest works, Pere Goriot provides a fascinating glimpse into Parisian life of the early 19th century. The rich character studies and themes of class, personal ambition, and materiality make this insightful novel as compelling today as when it was first published. At the shabby boarding house in the rue Neuve-Sainte-GeneviEve, petty Madame Vauquer and her tenants wonder at the plight of the aging resident...

Extrait : "Beaucoup de récits, riches de situations ou rendus dramatiques par les innombrables jets du hasard, emportent avec eux leurs propres artifices et peuvent être racontés artistement ou simplement par toutes les lèvres, sans que le sujet y perde la plus légère de ses beautés..." À PROPOS DES ÉDITIONS LIGARAN Les éditions LIGARAN proposent des versions numériques de qualité de grands livres de la littérature classique mais également...

With a sweeping narrative that features revolution, restoration, and colonial war, 'The Two Brothers' is Honore de Balzac at his masterful best. It focuses on the Bridau family, including Agathe, her two sons, and her elder brother, as they engage in increasingly undignified battles for their inheritance. The eldest son, Philippe, is a courageous soldier but a gambler and a crook. The youngest, Joseph, is a misunderstood artist. When the Bourbons...