Honoré de Balzac

The Bette referred to in this magnificent novel's title is Lisbeth Fischer, an excruciatingly cunning poor relation who both depends upon and nurses a terrible grudge....

Voici donc l'histoire de ce père Goriot, vermicellien ayant fait fortune et qui, tel l'Albatros de Baudelaire, se déchirera les entrailles pour élever ses enfants...

Brothers Philippe and Joseph Bridau are completely unalike: Philippe, braggart and soldier, formerly aide-de-camp to Napoleon, is their mother Agathe's favorite; Joseph, a poor and aspiring artist, is raised in his brother's shadow....

Life has the capacity of great moments and attainment, of lives well lived, fulfilling for ourselves and for those we touch. But for others life is arduous. There is no spark to ignite the curiosity, to explore and achieve a stability and a growth to their lives....

This brilliant collection of France’s foremost nineteenth-century novelist and playwright delivers four of his most fascinating works - stories of love, rivalry, horror and adventure - all brought to life by a stellar cast included Stephen Fry and Alex Kingston....

Inspiré à Balzac par son expérience dans l'imprimerie, Illusions perdues raconte l'échec de Lucien de Rubempré, jeune provincial épris de gloire littéraire...

C'est le premier portrait de femme profondément destructrice, rancunière et laide que Balzac ait produit. Elle se voit apparentée à un animal malfaisant...

The French Classics Collection brings together 18 of the greatest works of fiction ever written in French - here collected into one audiobook and all translated into English.

Impoverished young aristocrat Eugene de Rastignac is determined to climb the social ladder and impress himself on Parisian high society. He encounters Jean-Joachim Goriot, a retired vermicelli maker....

Lisbeth Fischer has lived in the shadow of her beautiful cousin Adeline for much of her life. Pampered while Lisbeth works in the fields, Adeline makes an enviable leap in status when Baron Hulot offers her his hand in marriage....

One of the greatest of French novelists, Balzac, trained as a lawyer, was a great judge of human nature....

In the brutal Prussian winter of 1807, Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte’s Grande Armée suffered massive losses to the Russians in the Battle of Eylau. Many thousands died. Young Colonel Chabert falls heroically, his actions having turned the tide of the battle....

At the beginning of the story the heroine lives an unfulfilled life in rural France, her nature crushed by a domineering and miserly father....

This is a heart-wrenching story of a man driven to poverty by the selfless acts and the overwhelming love and devotion that he has for his two daughters....

"The unknown masterpiece", or "Le chef-d'œuvre inconnu", is a story by Fthe rench author Honoré de Balzac...

Par cette fresque aux allures de roman policier, Balzac dépeint et fustige les incohérences sociales, politiques et judiciaires de son...

Enjoy the short stories of three of the greatest writers of French literature, for the first time assembled together in audiobook and narrated in a lively way...

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. They can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that are difficult to achieve elsewhere.

Dans "La Peau de chagrin", un de ses premiers romans à coloration fantastique, Balzac nous dévoile le mythe sans doute le plus central dans "La Comédie Humaine"...

Honore de Balzac's classic book of revenge and passion in which the title character Bette plots the destruction of various men including her cousin-in-law, Baron Hector Hulot....