Promotional Information

Part of his panorama of French life La Comedie Humaine, it is a touching portrayal of innocence and faith, informed by a strong sense of fate, the supernatural and divine justice.

About the Author

Balzac was born in Tours in 1799 and worked in Paris as a lawyer's clerk before becoming a writer. During his lifetime he wrote over ninety novels and short stories, many of which are considered masterpieces. He died in 1850, a few months after his marriage to Evelina Hanska, the Polish countess who had been his lover for eighteen years.