Honoré de Balzac

Author profile

born

in Tours, France

May 20, 1799

died

August 18, 1850

gender

male

genre

Literature & Fiction

influences

Walter Scott, Molière, Racine, Shakespeare, Lord Byron, [a:Jean de La...more

About this author

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Honoré de Balzac was a nineteenth-century French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of almost 100 novels and plays collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the fall of Napoléon Bonaparte in 1815.

Due to his keen observation of detail and unfiltered representation of society, Balzac is regarded as one of the founders of realism in European literature. He is renowned for his multi-faceted characters; even his lesser characters are complex, morally ambiguous and fully human. Inanimate objects are imbued with character as well; the city of Paris, a backdrop for much of his writing, takes on many human qualities. His writing influenced many famous authors, including...more Honoré de Balzac was a nineteenth-century French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of almost 100 novels and plays collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the fall of Napoléon Bonaparte in 1815.

Due to his keen observation of detail and unfiltered representation of society, Balzac is regarded as one of the founders of realism in European literature. He is renowned for his multi-faceted characters; even his lesser characters are complex, morally ambiguous and fully human. Inanimate objects are imbued with character as well; the city of Paris, a backdrop for much of his writing, takes on many human qualities. His writing influenced many famous authors, including the novelists Marcel Proust, Émile Zola, Charles Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, Henry James and Jack Kerouac, as well as important philosophers such as Friedrich Engels. Many of Balzac's works have been made into films, and they continue to inspire other writers.

An enthusiastic reader and independent thinker as a child, Balzac had trouble adapting himself to the teaching style of his grammar school. His willful nature caused trouble throughout his life, and frustrated his ambitions to succeed in the world of business. When he finished school, Balzac was apprenticed as a legal clerk, but he turned his back on law after wearying of its inhumanity and banal routine. Before and during his career as a writer, he attempted to be a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician. He failed in all of these efforts. La Comédie Humaine reflects his real-life difficulties, and includes scenes from his own experience.

Balzac suffered from health problems throughout his life, possibly due to his intense writing schedule. His relationship with his family was often strained by financial and personal drama, and he lost more than one friend over critical reviews. In 1850, he married Ewelina Hańska, his longtime paramour; he died five months later.
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Honoré de Balzac's Books

Average rating: 3.78 · 38,379 ratings · 2,072 reviews · 635 distinct works · Similar authors

	Père Goriot 3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 13,930 ratings — published 1834 — 264 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Eugénie Grandet by Honoré de Balzac, Sylvia Raphael (Translator), Christopher Prendergast (Introduction) 3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 5,356 ratings — published 1833 — 213 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac, Kathleen Raine, Francine Prose (Introduction) 3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 2,789 ratings — published 1846 — 108 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac, Ellen Marriage (Translator), George Saintsbury (Introduction) 4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 2,505 ratings — published 1843 — 95 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wild Ass's Skin by Honoré de Balzac, Herbert J. Hunt (Translator) 3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 1,540 ratings — published 1831 — 145 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Le Colonel Chabert 3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 avg rating — 947 ratings — published 1832 — 63 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Unknown Masterpiece by Honoré de Balzac, Richard Howard (translator), Arthur C. Danto (contributor) 3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 666 ratings — published 1831 — 50 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Woman of Thirty 3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 avg rating — 678 ratings — published 1842 — 75 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Harlot High and Low by Honoré de Balzac, Rayner Heppenstall (Translator, Introduction) 4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 662 ratings — published 1380 — 79 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Le Lys dans la vallée 3.49 of 5 stars 3.49 avg rating — 979 ratings — published 1835 — 85 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Honoré de Balzac…

Series by Honoré de Balzac

La Comédie Humaine (85 books)
by Honoré de Balzac
3.769113838531697 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 35,524 ratings

Études de moeurs: Scènes de la vie privée (27 books)
by Honoré de Balzac
3.7330804788431906 of 5 stars 3.73 avg rating — 16,874 ratings

Études de moeurs: Scènes de la vie de province (10 books)
by Honoré de Balzac
3.8712351155731963 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 8,566 ratings

Études de moeurs: Scènes de la vie parisienne (18 books)
by Honoré de Balzac
3.8306225462703307 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 5,349 ratings

Poor Relations (2 books)
by Honoré de Balzac, Herbert J. Hunt (Translator)
3.8644890038809834 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 3,092 ratings

More series by Honoré de Balzac…

Quotes by Honoré de Balzac

“The more one judges, the less one loves.”
― Honoré de Balzac, Physiologie Du Mariage

tags: human-nature, love

2,062 people liked it

“All happiness depends on courage and work.”
― Honoré de Balzac

tags: courage, happiness, work

1,983 people liked it

“Solitude is fine but you need someone to tell that solitude is fine.”
― Honoré de Balzac

tags: loneliness, society, solitude

405 people liked it

See all Honoré de Balzac's quotes »

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