Honoré de Balzac

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born

May 20, 1799 in Tours, France

died

August 18, 1850

gender

male

genre

Literature & Fiction

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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Books by Honoré de Balzac

Average rating: 3.75 · 20,752 ratings · 1,464 reviews · 661 distinct works

	Père Goriot 3.72 avg rating — 7,291 ratings — published 1835 — 233 editions	My rating:
	Eugénie Grandet by Honoré de Balzac, Sylvia Raphael (Translator), Christopher Prendergast (Introduction) 3.73 avg rating — 2,724 ratings — published 1833 — 213 editions	My rating:
	Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac, Kathleen Raine, Francine Prose (Introduction) 3.82 avg rating — 1,564 ratings — published 1846 — 104 editions	My rating:
	Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac, Ellen Marriage (Translator), George Saintsbury (Introduction) 4.09 avg rating — 1,338 ratings — published 1843 — 92 editions	My rating:
	The Wild Ass's Skin by Honoré de Balzac, Herbert J. Hunt (Translator) 3.72 avg rating — 871 ratings — published 1831 — 128 editions	My rating:
	Le Colonel Chabert 3.48 avg rating — 574 ratings — published 1832 — 57 editions	My rating:
	The Unknown Masterpiece by Honoré de Balzac, Richard Howard (translator), Arthur C. Danto (contributor) 3.85 avg rating — 336 ratings — published 1837 — 4 editions	My rating:
	A Harlot High and Low by Honoré de Balzac, Rayner Heppenstall (Translator, Introduction) 4.10 avg rating — 377 ratings — published 1847 — 60 editions	My rating:
	The Black Sheep by Honoré de Balzac, Donald Adamson (Translator) 4.01 avg rating — 266 ratings — published 1842 — 43 editions	My rating:
	A Woman Of Thirty 3.51 avg rating — 350 ratings — published 1832 — 73 editions	My rating:

More books by Honoré de Balzac…

Series by Honoré de Balzac

La Comédie Humaine (87 books)
by Honoré de Balzac

3.73 avg rating — 18,755 ratings

Études de moeurs: Scènes de la vie privée (27 books)
by Honoré de Balzac

3.69 avg rating — 8,842 ratings

Études de moeurs: Scènes de la vie de province (10 books)
by Honoré de Balzac

3.85 avg rating — 4,455 ratings

Études de moeurs: Scènes de la vie parisienne (18 books)
by Honoré de Balzac

3.80 avg rating — 3,065 ratings

Poor Relations (2 books)
by Honoré de Balzac, Herbert J. Hunt (Translator)

3.82 avg rating — 1,742 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

1,519 people liked it

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

tags: loneliness , society , solitude

208 people liked it

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

tags: courage , happiness , work

88 people liked it

See all Honoré de Balzac's quotes »

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