Honoré de Balzac - Resources and General Discussion

Please use this thread for general information, links to resources, and discussion of Balzac and his works in general. We will have separate threads discussing specific works.

Balzac's Comédie humaine consists of 91 finished works (stories, novels or analytical essays) and 46 unfinished works. His final plan of the Comédie Humaine is as follows only finished works):

Studies of manners (Études de moeurs)

Scenes from private life (Scènes de la vie privée)

At the Sign of the Cat and Racket (La Maison du chat-qui-pelote, 1830)
The Ball at Sceaux (Le Bal de Sceaux, 1830)
Letters of Two Brides (Mémoires de deux jeunes mariées, 1842)
The Purse (La Bourse, 1832)
Modeste Mignon (1844)
A Start in Life (Un début dans la vie, 1845; first published as Le danger des mystifications, 1842)
Albert Savarus (1842)
The Vendetta (La Vendetta, 1830)
A Second Home (Une double famille, 1830)
Domestic Peace (La Paix du ménage, 1830)
Madame Firmiani (1832)
Study of a Woman (Étude de femme, 1830)
The Imaginary Mistress (La fausse maîtresse, 1842)
A Daughter of Eve (Une fille d'Ève, 1838-39)
The Message (Le Message, 1832)
La Grande Bretèche (1832)
La Grenadière (1832)
The Deserted Woman (La Femme abandonnée, 1832)
Honorine (1843)
Béatrix (1839)
Gobseck (1830)
A Woman of Thirty (La Femme de trente ans, 1832)
Old Goriot (le Père Goriot, 1835)
Le Colonel Chabert (1844, first published as La transaction, 1832)
The Atheist's Mass (La Messe de l'athée, 1836)
L'Interdiction (1836)
A Marriage Contract (Le Contrat de mariage, 1835)
Another Study of a Woman (Autre étude de femme, 1842)

Scenes from provincial life (Scènes de la vie de province)

Ursule Mirouët (1841)
Eugénie Grandet (1834)

The Celibates (Les Célibataires)

Pierrette (1840)
The Vicar of Tours (Le Curé de Tours, first published as Les célibataires, 1832)
The Black Sheep (La Rabouilleuse, 1842, aka A Bachelor's Establishment)

Parisians in the Country (Les Parisiens en province)

The Illustrious Gaudissart (L'Illustre Gaudissart, 1833)
The Muse of the Department (La Muse du département, 1843)

The Jealousies of a Country Town (Les Rivalités)

The Old Maid (La Vieille Fille, 1836)
The Collection of Antiquities (Le Cabinet des Antiques, 1839)

Lost Illusions (Illusions perdues)

The Two Poets (Les Deux poètes, 1837)
A Great Provincial in Paris (Un grand homme de province à Paris, 1839)
Eve and David (Ève et David, 1843)

Scenes from Parisian life (Scènes de la vie parisienne)

César Birotteau (Histoire de la grandeur et de la décadence de César Birotteau, 1837)
The Firm of Nucingen (La Maison Nucingen, 1838)
Splendors and Miseries of Courtesans (Splendeurs et Misères des courtisanes, 1847, aka A Harlot High and Low), comprising
Esther Happy (Esther heureuse, 1838)
What Love Costs an Old Man (À combien l’amour revient aux vieillards, 1843)
The End of Evil Ways (Où mènent les mauvais chemins, 1846)
The Last Incarnation of Vautrin (La Dernière incarnation de Vautrin, 1847)
The Secrets of the Princess Cadignan (Les Secrets de la princesse de Cadignan, 1840, first published as Une Princesse parisienne, 1839)
Facino Cane (1836)
Sarrasine (1830)
Pierre Grassou (1840)
A Man of Business (Un homme d'affaires, 1846; first published as les Roueries d’un créancier, 1845)
A Prince of Bohemia (Un prince de la Bohème, 1844; first published as les Fantaisies de Claudine, 1840)
Gaudissart II (1846; first published as Un Gaudissart de la rue Richelieu; les Comédies qu'on peut voir gratis, 1844)
The Government Clerks (Les Employés, 1838; first published as la Femme supérieure, 1837))
The Unwitting Comedians (Les Comédiens sans le savoir, 1846)
The Lesser Bourgeoisie (Les Petits Bourgeois, 1854)
The Seamy Side of History (L'envers de l'histoire contemporaine, 1848, aka The Wrong Side of Paris)

The Thirteen (Histoire des Treize)

Ferragus (1833)
The Duchess of Langeais (La Duchesse de Langeais, 1834)
The Girl with the Golden Eyes (La fille aux yeux d'or, 1835)

Poor Relations (Les parents pauvres)

Cousin Bette (La Cousine Bette, 1846)
Cousin Pons (Le Cousin Pons, 1847)

Scenes from political life (Scènes de la vie politique)

An Episode Under the Terror (Un épisode sous la Terreur, 1830)
Murky Business (Une ténébreuse affaire, 1841)
The Deputy for Arcis (the only part written by Balzac was published as l'Élection, 1847)
Z. Marcas (1840)

Scenes from military life (Scènes de la vie militaire)

The Chouans (Les Chouans, 1829)
A Passion in the Desert (Une passion dans le désert, 1830)

Scenes from country life (Scènes de la vie de campagne)

The Peasants (Les Paysans, 1855; first part published in 1844)
The Country Doctor (Le Médecin de campagne, 1833)
The Village Rector (Le Curé de Village, 1839)
The Lily of the Valley (Le Lys dans la vallée, 1836)

Philosophical studies (Études philosophiques)

The Wild Ass's Skin (La Peau de chagrin, 1831)
Christ in Flanders (Jésus-Christ en Flandre, 1831)
Melmoth Reconciled (Melmoth réconcilié, 1835)
The Unknown Masterpiece (Le Chef-d'oeuvre inconnu, 1831)
Gambara (1837)
Massimilla Doni (1839)
The Quest of the Absolute (La Recherche de l'Absolu, 1834)
The Hated Son (L'Enfant maudit, 1831)
Farewell (Adieu, 1830)
The Maranas (Les Marana, 1834)
The Conscript (Le Réquisitionnaire, 1831)
El Verdugo (1830)
A Drama on the Seashore (Un drame au bord de la mer, 1834)
Maître Cornélius (1831)
The Red Inn (L'Auberge rouge, 1831)
About Catherine de' Medici (Sur Catherine de Médicis, 1842)
The Elixir of Life (L'Élixir de longue vie, 1831)
The Exiles (Les Proscrits, 1831)
Louis Lambert (1832)
Séraphîta (1835)

Analytical studies (Études analytiques)

Physiology of Marriage (Physiologie du Mariage, 1829)
Little Miseries of Conjugal Life (Petites misères de la vie conjugale, 1846)

Edwin--thank you so much for setting up this list. I knew The Human Comedy was huge, but it's nice to see the books all together, and to see how they are organized.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I've read Cousin Bette a couple of times, and it is one of my favorite books. I've also read Old Goriot, Eugenie Grandet and Lost Illusions, all of which I've liked, but read so long ago I don't remember much about, other than that they were books I wouldn't mind reading again.

I bought Cousin Bette, maybe because you recommended it, Deborah, but I'd love other recommendations too.

And thanks, Edwin! That was a tremendous job!

Thanks edwin for going ahead and creating this thread. As arubabookwoman mentions, it's nice to see all the books here at once. I have the three following books by him in my TBR pile:

Le Père Goriot
Le Colonel Chabert
Le Lys dans la vallée

I have more than half of Goriot read from a group read back in 2008 or so but back then I was in a strange rut where I just couldn't finish books. I'm thinking I'll start off with that one again and finally just read it. But I doubt I can start in January.

Many of Balzac's works are available in English only in late-19th century translations by Ellen Marriage or James Waring as part of a (mostly) complete publisher's set of the Comédie Humaine. I was wondering if we have the same problem with bowdlerization that exists with the contemporary translations of Zola and other French novelists.

It seems that Marriage translated most of Balzac under her own name, but may have used the name James Waring for those volumes that were considered too bold to have a woman's name attached to them. And there were six volumes of the Comédie Humaine which she and her publisher declined to touch because they were too shocking. (Those six volumes are: La physiologie du mariage, Sarrasine, La fille aux yeux d'or, Une passion dans le désert, and Petites misères de la vie conjugale.)

With Google's help I found an 1898 review of Marriage's translations that says:

'In connection with the fact that the present edition intends to omit no volume of the "Comédie Humaine," and that it will not soften down, not to say Bowdlerize, the Balzac text ...'

The article goes on to say that while they aren't suitable for children, Balzac's works aren't as much in need of censorship as those of some more recent French authors.

Of course they did omit several volumes, as noted, but it looks like the Marriage/Waring translations of Balzac may be acceptable in the absence of something newer. Does anyone have information to the contrary? I have three Balzac novels in modern translations, but none of the introductions says anything about previous translations.

Have the six "bold" volumes been translated into English at all?

Actually that should have been "five" bold volumes. I wasn't counting very well this morning.

I was just following the links in Edwin's list to check, and it looks like all are available in English translation, but with one exception (The Girl with the Golden Eyes) the only translations are quite old and in most cases in the public domain. So it looks like others were willing to translate them even if Miss Marriage was not. (Whether they are unexpurgated or not is another matter.)

Two of the five are the "analytical studies" (essays rather than fiction), and the three fiction works are all quite brief...between 50 and 150 pages each.

Most works of Honoré de Balzac, including the five mentioned above, are in Nineteenth Century translation in English in the public domain. Below are links to all works I could find, including the names of the translators:

Honoré de Balzac, 1799-1850

Works (The order is according to Balzac's final plan (1845) of the Comédie Humaine.)

Studies of manners (Études de moeurs)

Scenes from private life (Scènes de la vie privée)
* At the Sign of the Cat and Racket (La Maison du chat-qui-pelote) / translated by Clara Bell (1830)
* The Ball at Sceaux (Le bal de Sceaux) / translated by Clara Bell (1830)
* The Purse (La bourse) / translated by Clara Bell (1832)
* The Vendetta (La Vendetta) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1830)
* Madame Firmiani / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1832)
* A Second Home (Une double famille) / translated by Clara Bell (1830)
* Domestic Peace (La paix du ménage) / translated by Ellen Marriage and Clara Bell (1830)
* The Imaginary Mistress (La fausse maitresse) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1842)
* Study of a Woman (Étude de femme) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1835)
* Another Study of a Woman (Autre étude de femme) translated by Ellen Marriage and Clara Bell (1842)
* La Grand Breteche translated by Ellen Marriage and Clara Bell
* Albert Savarus translated by Clara Bell (1842)
* Letters of Two Brides (Mémoires de deux jeunes mariées) translated by R. S. Scott (1842)
* A Daughter of Eve (Une fille d'Ève) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1835)
* A Woman of Thirty (La femme de trente ans) translated by Ellen Marriage (1832)
* The Deserted Woman (La femme abandonnée) / translated by Ellen Marriage (1834)
* La Grenadière / translated by Ellen Marriage (1833)
* The Message / translated by Ellen Marriage (1832)
* Gobseck / translated by Ellen Marriage (1830)
* A Marriage Contract (Le contrat de mariage) translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1835)
* A Start in Life (Un début dans la vie) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1844)
* Modeste Mignon / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1844)
* Béatrix / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1839)
* Honorine translated by Clara Bell (1845)
* Le Colonel Chabert / translated by Ellen Marriage (1844)
* The Atheist's Mass (La messe de l'athée) translated by Clara Bell (1837)
* The Commission in Lunacy (L'interdiction) translated by Clara Bell (1836)
* Pierre Grassou / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1839)

Scenes from provincial life (Scènes de la vie de province)
* Ursula (Ursule Mirouët) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1842)
* Eugénie Grandet / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1834)
* The Celibates (Les Célibataires) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley
o Introduction to The Celibates (Les Célibataires) by George Saintsbury
o Pierrette / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1840)
o The Vicar of Tours (Le Curé de Tours) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1832)
o The Two Brothers (La Rabouilleuse) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1842)

* Parisians in the Country (Les Parisiens en province):
o The Illustrious Gaudissart (L'Illustre Gaudissart) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1834)
o The Muse of the Department (La Muse du département) / translated by James Waring (1843)

* The Jealousies of a Country Town (Les Rivalités):
o An Old Maid (La Vieille Fille) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1837)
o The Collection of Antiquities (Le Cabinet des Antiques) / translated by Ellen Marriage (1839)

* Lost Illusions (Illusions Perdues) (1843):
o Introduction to Lost Illusions (Illusions Perdues) by George Saintsbury
o Lost Illusions, Part 1: Two Poets / translated by Ellen Marriage
o Lost Illusions, Part 2: A Distinguished Provincial at Paris / translated by Ellen Marriage
o Lost Illusions, Part 3: Eve and David / translated by Ellen Marriage

Scenes from Parisian life (Scènes de la vie parisienne)
* Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life (A Harlot's Progress; Splendeurs et Misères des courtisanes) / translated by James Waring (1847)
* A Prince of Bohemia (Un prince de la Bohème) translated by James Waring (1840)
* A Man of Business (Un homme d'affaires) translated by James Waring (1846)
* Gaudissart II translated by James Waring (1844)

* The Unwitting Actors or The Unwitting Comedians (Les Comédiens sans le savoir) (1848)
* The Thirteen (Histoire des Treize) / translated by Ellen Marriage
o Ferragus / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1834)
o The Duchesse de Langeais (La Duchesse de Langeais) (1834)
o The Girl with the Golden Eyes (La fille aux yeux d'or) / translated by Ellen Marriage (1835)
* Father Goriot (Le Père Goriot) / translated by Ellen Marriage (1835)
* The Rise and Fall of César Birotteau (Histoire de la grandeur et de la décadence de César Birotteau) (1837)
* The Firm of Nucingen (La Maison Nucingen) (1838)
* The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan (Les Secrets de la princesse de Cadignan) (1840)
* The Government Clerks (Les Employés) (1838)

* Bureaucracy / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley
* Sarrasine / translated by Clara Bell (1831)
* Facino Cane (1836)

Poor Relations (Les parents pauvres):
o Cousin Betty (La Cousine Bette) translated by James Waring (1847)
o Cousin Pons (Le Cousin Pons) / translated by Ellen Marriage (1847)
* The Lesser Bourgeoisie (Les Petits Bourgeois) (1855)

Scenes from political life (Scènes de la vie politique)
* An Historical Mystery (The Gondreville Mystery) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley
* An Episode under the Terror (Un épisode sous la Terreur) (1830)
* The Brotherhood of Consolation (The Seamy Side of History: or The Brotherhood of Consolation: Murky Business) (Une ténébreuse affaire) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1841)
o Madame de la Chanterie
o Initiated or The Initiate
* Z. Marcas (1841)
* The Deputy of Arcis (Le député d'Arcis) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1847)

Scenes from military life (Scènes de la vie militaire)
* The Chouans (Les Chouans) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1829)
* A Passion in the Desert (Une passion dans le désert) (1830)

Scenes from country life (Scènes de la vie de campagne)
* The Country Doctor (Le Médecin de campagne) / translated by Ellen Marriage (1833)
* The Lily of the Valley (Le Lys dans la vallée) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1836)
* The Village Rector (The Country Parson) (Le Curé de Village) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1841)
* Sons of the Soil (The Peasantry) (Les Paysans) (1855)

Philosophical studies (Études philosophiques)
* The Magic Skin / The Wild Ass's Skin (La Peau de chagrin) / translated by Ellen Marriage (1831)
* The Alkahest (The Quest of the Absolute) (La Recherche de l'Absolu) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1834)
* Christ in Flanders (Jésus-Christ en Flandre) / translated by Ellen Marriage (1831)
* Melmoth Reconciled (Melmoth réconcilié) / translated by Ellen Marriage (1835)
* The Hidden Masterpiece (Le Chef-d'oeuvre inconnu) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1831)
* The Unknown Masterpiece (Le Chef-d'oeuvre inconnu) / translated by Ellen Marriage (1832)
* The Hated Son (L'Enfant maudit) (1831)
* Gambara (1837)
* Massimilla Doni (1839)
* The Maranas (Les Marana) (1834)

* Farewell (Adieu) / translated by Ellen Marriage (1832)
* The Recruit (The Conscript) (Le Réquisitionnaire) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1831)
* El Verdugo / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1831)
* A Drama on the Seashore (A Seaside Tragedy) (Un drame au bord de la mer) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1834)
* The Red Inn (L'Auberge rouge) / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1832)
* The Elixir of Life (L'Élixir de longue vie) (1831)
* The Exiles (Les Proscrits) (1831)
* Maitre Cornélius (1832)
* About Catherine de Medici / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1842)
o The Calvinist Martyr
o The Ruggieri's Secret
o The Two Dreams
* Louis Lambert / translated by Clara Bell and James Waring (1832)
* Seraphita / translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1835)

Analytical studies (Études analytiques)
* Analytical Studies
* The Physiology of Marriage (Physiologie du Mariage) (1829)
* Pathology of the Social Life (Little Miseries of Conjugal Life) (Petites misères de la vie conjugale) (1846)

Collected Works
* Comédie Humaine / edited by George Saintsbury (Dent, 1895-1898)
Translators: Clara Bell, Ellen Marriage, R.C. Scott and James Waring.
1. About Catherine de Medici translated by Clara Bell with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
2. The Atheist’s mass. Honorie. Colonel Chabert. The Commission in lunacy. Pierre Grassou translated by Clara Bell with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
3. At the sign of the cat and racket. The Sceaux Ball. The purse. The vendetta. Madame Firmiani translated by Clara Bell with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
4. A Bachelor’s establishment translated by Clara Bell with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
5. Beatrix translated by James Waring with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
6. The Chouans translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
7. The Country doctor translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
8. The Country parson translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
9. Cousin Betty translated by James Waring with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
10. Cousin Pons translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
11. A Daughter of Eve. Letters of Two Brides translated by R. S. Scott with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
12. A Distinguished provincial at Paris translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
13. Eugenie Grandet translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
14. A Father’s curse. Maitre Cornelius. Gambara. Massimilla Doni translated by James Waring with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
15. A Gondreville mystery translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
16. La Grande Breteche. A study of women. Peace in the house. The imaginary mistress. Albert Savarus translated by Clara Bell with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
17. A Harlot’s progress translated by James Waring with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
18. A Harlot’s progress pt. 2. translated by James Waring with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
19. The Jealousies of a country town translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
20. The lily of the valley translated by James Waring with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
21. Lost illusions translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
22. A Marriage settlement. A start in life. A second home translated by Clara Bell with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
23. The member for Arcis translated by Clara Bell with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
24. The middle classes translated by Clara Bell with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
25. Modeste Mignon translated by Clara Bell with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
26. Old Goriot translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
27. Parisians in the country. The muse of the department translated by James Waring with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
28. The peasantry translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
29. Pierrette. The Abbe Birotteau translated by Clara Bell with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
30. A Princess’s secrets. Bureaucracy translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
31. The Quest of the absolute
32. The Rise and fall of Cesar Birotteau translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
33. The seamy side of history
34. Seraphita. Louis Lambert. The exiles translated by Clara Bell with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
35. The Thirteen translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
36. The unconscious mummers. A prine of Bohemia. A man of business. The firm of Nucingen. Facino cane translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
37. The Unknown masterpiece. Christ in Flanders. Melmoth reconciled. The Maranas. El Verdugo. Farewell. The Conscript. A Seaside tragedy. The Red house. The Elixir of life translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
38. Ursule Miroueët translated by Clara Bell with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)
39. The wild ass’s skin
40. A Woman of thirty. A forsaken lady. La Grenadiere. The Message. Gobseck. translated by Ellen Marriage with a Preface by George Saintsbury (facsim)

See also Reference Works about Honore de Balzac:
* Balzac by Frederick Lawton
* Honore de Balzac by Albert Keim and Louis Lumet ; translated by Frederic Taber Cooper
* Honore de Balzac, His Life and Writings / Mary F. Sandars
Repertory of the Comedie Humaine / Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Francois Christophe; translated by Joseph Walker McSpadden.

Wow! That was a tremendous effort, Edwin. I am still trying to find out which novels, in addition to the copy of Cousin Bette I bought*, have been translated into English in more or less modern times (i.e., ones not in the public domain). Alas, the Wikipedia page doesn't have the handy list of translations that the Rougon-Macquart page has, and Balzac was so prolific I haven't made much progress on this project. I might have more time over the weekend to do some research.

*My edition was translated by Kathleen Raine in 1946 and published by Modern Library in 2002.

Echoing Rebecca's "Wow!"

Comprehensive information on translations is hard to find, and this much work ought to be preserved in a more permanent and structured location such as a Wiki page. We could even start a library of reference pages on the works of every author we feature in this group. Unfortunately Wiki coding is completely different from the HTML used in Talk, so you can't just cut and paste. I guess I'm volunteering to do the work if there's any interest here.

Thanks again edwin.

Currently reading Père Goriot and the translation is 1991 (OUP). I thought that was relatively modern and then realized it was over twenty years ago. Still it's reasonably recent. I am really enjoying it.

I just finished Le Colonel Chabert (in French), and that is really a 5-star read. It was my first by Balzac ever, and I am deeply impressed.

I will take me a few days to write a review, as I am already hopelessly behind with my reviews.

013. Peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise
Finished reading: 16 January 2013



Honoré de Balzac’s main oevre consists of 91 stories, novels and analytical essays, and 46 unfinished works together constituting a grand Comédie Humaine. This colossal series of works, with the subtitle Study of mores, aims to describe all aspects of society. Each novel or story focuses on a different layers, genders, social classes, ages, professions and institutions in French society during the Restauration and July Monarch period (1815 – 1848), showing the causes and effects in society.

A less well-known part of Balzac’s oevre are the five stories constituting Peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise. These stories are directly linked to La Comédie Humaine. They are parables which make the reader reflect on human society through the eyes of animals.



These five stories were written by Honoré de Balzac as a contribution to a series of short stories, plays, etc collected and edited by Pierre-Jules Hetzel, who used the pen name P.-J. Stahl. Hetzel was active as an editor as well as writer. He knew and was friends with many French authors who were active during the first half of the nineteenth century, including many great illustrators and artists, whom he asked to contribute to the magazines and collaborative book projects he initiated. Besides his editorial work, Pierre-Jules Hetzel produced a considerable oevre which can appreciated in its own right.



Hetzel’s first success was with Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux. Études de mœurs contemporaines. This serialized work consists of novellas, satirical stories, and short plays, each richly illustrated with wood cuts by Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard, usually known under the pen names J.J. Grandville or Jean-Jacques Grandville. Grandville specialized in zoomorphic pictures, and illustrated books and magazines of various authors during his life time. Over a period of two years he contributed 320 wood cuts to Hetzel’s Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux.



Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux first appeared serialized between 1840 and 1842, and then in book form in two volumes in 1841 and 1842. The books were very successful and were reprinted several times throughout the nineteenth century.



Volume one of consists of sixteen episodes. P.-J. Stahl is the main contributor, writing the Prologue and three episodes. Honoré de Balzac also contributed four episodes to the first volume, but one of his contributions in this volume, , although written by Balzac was attributed to George Sand. Other authors who contributed to volume I are Émile de La Bédollière, Gustave Droz, Jules Janin, Édouard Lemoine, Paul de Musset, Charles Nodier and Louis Viardot.


Volume two consists of fourteen episodes, five by Stahl, two by Droz, and one each by Bédollière , Alfred de Musset, L. Baude, Ménessier Nodier (daughter of Charles Nodier), Pierre Bernard and Honoré de Balzac.



The five episodes or novellas written by Balzac are collected and published as a separate volume. This type of “out-of-context” publication makes for quite difficult reading. For example, my edition has neither an introduction which might explain the broader framework of Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux, nor footnotes, nor illustrations. Knowledge of the broader framework is needed to understand direct references to the framework. In the Prologue the animals form an editorial board for the whole work, so when Balzac opens his second story as follows:

Messieurs les Rédacteurs, les Ânes sentent le besoin de s'opposer, à la Tribune Animale, contre l'injuste opinion qui fait de leur nom un symbole de bêtise. (p. 133)

Seasoned readers would know who those Rédacteurs (editors ) are, but without proper references the reader is at a loss.

Generally, Peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise is difficult to read because of many references to politicians, scientists and other real-life people during the first half of the nineteenth century, and cross references between the episodes, to episodes contributed by other authors. Therefore, Peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise may not be such a light read, and for full appreciation, the reader without an annotated edition may have to spend some time looking up references.



Balzac’s first novella is titled Peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise. It is an amusing story which can be read without much difficulty. It very clearly portrays Victorian mores about what does and what does not constitute proper behaviour in public. Like all other stories it is completely, cleverly and convincingly, written from the point of animals, in this case cats, and therefore presents humourous descriptions of how cats eat, drink milk or spend the whole night sleeping on the lap of their owner whilst he plays whist. Peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise is a love story, describing the love of a fairly common cat for an “aristocratic” breed, and subsequent developments.


The second story by Balzac Guide-âne à l’usage des animaux qui veulent parvenir aux honneurs is much more difficult to understand as it refers to a scientific debate about the classification of animals by competing zoologists at the time the story was written.
The third story, Voyage d’un moineau de Paris à la recherche du meilleur gouvernement is more readable again. It is this story which was attributed to George Sand, as Balzac said he did not want to dominate volume 1. As a kind of introduction, the story opens describing the social structure of classes in Paris, or rich and poor sparrows, suggesting that the growing gap between the classes needs to be addressed by finding a more suitable form of government. Subsequently, the sparrow travels to three imaginary realms, the realm of the Ants, the Kingdom of the Bees, with their glorious Queen, clearly a reference to Victorian Britain, and the realm of the Wolves, to descide on the most appropriate form of state.



The next story, Voyage d’un lion d’Afrique à Paris, et ce qui s’ensuivit was difficult to follow. Superficially, it describes the visit of the Lion, the crown prince, to Paris. He is astounded to find that in France “the King reigns but the people rule” (A Paris, the roi règne et ne gouverne pas (p.204). The Lion describes contemporary Paris where anything is sold and anything can be bought. The story is written in epistolary from, of letters written home to his father. It is a satire of the demi-monde of Paris at that time (a propos the word “demi-monde” wasn’t coined until 1855). The story was difficult to understand because many references are not clear.



The last story Les amours de deux bêtes offerts en exemple aux gens d’esprit : histoire animau-sentimentale was the most readable, and most beautiful story to read. It is a love story that reads like a fairytale about the love of a Ladybug for a Caterpillar. The structure of the story is a little bit confusing because the story is set up as people’s observations of true love among animals, while the story contains references to the human world, the animal world an another realm inhabited by imaginary animals. These three layers are a bit confusing, but do not prevent the reader from an enchanting, magic reading experience. This story, was by far the most beautiful.



Overall, Balzac’s Peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise is a very difficult, but with the right references, very rewarding, and thence, also, very enjoyable read. It is definitely advisable to buy an annotated edition, or read the stories within the context of Hetzel’s Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux.



Other books I have read by Honoré de Balzac:
Le Colonel Chabert











Besides the larger contributions to Hetzel’s Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux. Études de mœurs contemporaines, there were also smaller contributions, forming intermissions between the more substantial episodes. On of these smaller contributions to Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux was written by Benjamin Franklin. It reads as follows (complete):

DERNIÈRES PAROLES D'UN ÉPHÉMÈRE.

C'était l'opinion des savants philosophes de notre race qui ont vécu et fleuri longtemps avant le présent âge, que ce vaste monde ne pourrait pas subsister plus de dix-huit heures ; et je pense que cette opinion n'était pas sans fondement, puisque par le mouvement apparent du grand luminaire qui donne la vie à toute la nature , et qui de mon temps a considérablement décliné vers l'océan qui borne cette terre, il faut qu'il termine son cours à cette époque, s'éteigne dans les eaux qui nous
environnent, et livre le monde à des glaces et à des ténèbres qui amèneront nécessairement une mort et une destruction universelles. J'ai vécu sept heures dans ces dix-huit; c'est un grand âge; ce n'est pas moins de quatre cent vingt minutes; combien peu entre nous parviennent aussi loin! J'ai vu des générations naître, fleurir et disparaître. Mes amis présents sont les enfants et les petits-enfants des amis de ma jeunesse, qui, hélas! ne sont plus, et je dois bientôt les suivre; car, pour le cours ordinaire de la nature, je ne puis m'attendre, quoique en bonne santé, à vivre encore plus de sept à huit minutes. Que me servent à present tous mes travaux, toutes mes fatigues, pour faire sur celte feuille une provision de miellée que pendant tout le reste de ma vie je ne pourrai consommer? Que me servent les débats politiques dans lesquels je me suis engagé pour l'avantage de mes compatriotes, habitants de ce buisson? Que me servent mes recherches philosophiques consacrées au bien de notre espèce en général? En politique, que peuvent les lois sans les mœurs? Le cours des minutes rendra la génération présente des éphémères aussi corrompue que celle des buissons plus anciens, et par conséquent, aussi malheureuse. Et en philosophie, que nos progress sont lents! Hélas! l'art est long et la vie est courte. Mes amis voudraient me consoler par l'idée d'un nom qu'ils disent que je laisserai après moi. Ils disent que j'ai assez vécu pour ma gloire et pour la nature; mais que sert la renommée pour un éphémère qui n'existe plus? Et l'histoire, que deviendra-t-elle, lorsqu'à la dix-huitième heure le monde tout entire sera arrivé à sa fin pour n'être plus qu'un amas de ruines?
Pour moi, après tant de recherches actives, il ne me reste de bien réel que la satisfaction d'avoir passé ma vie dans l'intention d'être utile, la conversation aimable de quelques bonnes dames éphémères, et l'espérance de vivre encore quelques secondes dans leur souvenir, lorsque je ne serai plus.

Benjamin Franklin.

Fascinating! And what wonderful illustrations!

Loved your review and the wonderful illustrations. Is there any significance to the cat being anglaise in terms of manners?

Now I have to find out more about Grandville. I see what looks like Breviere on some of the illustrations, along with Grandville. Do you know who he was?

I've always loved anthropomorphic depictions of animals. I don't know if most modern artists are less familiar with the animal world, or merely if the fashion has passed, but you don't seem to see many of these any more, even in children's books.

I didn't realize Benjamin Franklin was given to this type of introspection. I should read him.

I think anglaise here simply means British or English, no other special significance. One of the other contributions, by P.-J. Stahl was called Éducation d'une chatte française and is regarded as a reply to the story by Balzac.

I had never heard of Grandville (sometimes spelled Granville). Apparently, he specialized in this type of illustrations. He also illustrated La Fontaine's Fables, and the French edition of Swift's Voyages de Gulliver among many, many other words.

Wow! Great illustrations. Thanks for sharing.