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Cousin Bette

By Honoré de Balzac
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac is a novel that explores themes of revenge, ambition, and social manoeuvring within Parisian society. The story follows Lisbeth Fischer, known as Cousin Bette, a woman driven by jealousy and the desire to dismantle the fortunes of her more successful relatives. Through her cunning manipulations, the lives of those around her unravel, showcasing the complexities of human relationships and the dark side of familial loyalty.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this novel if you're drawn to stories of intricate family dynamics and the complexities of human emotions. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century Paris, it delves into themes of jealousy, revenge, and ambition. The vivid characters and rich detail provide a captivating portrayal of French society, making it a classic of General Fiction for those who appreciate character-driven narratives.

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Cousin Bette

Poor, plain spinster Bette is compelled to survive on the condescending patronage of her socially superior relatives in Paris: her beautiful, saintly cousin Adeline, the philandering Baron Hulot and their daughter Hortense.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

'Envy remained hidden in her heart, like a plague germ which may come to life and devastate a city.'

Poor, plain spinster Bette is compelled to survive on the condescending patronage of her socially superior relatives in Paris—her beautiful, saintly cousin Adeline, the philandering Baron Hulot, and their daughter Hortense. Already deeply resentful of their wealth, when Bette learns that the man she is in love with plans to marry Hortense, she becomes consumed by the desire to exact her revenge and dedicates herself to the destruction of the Hulot family, plotting their ruin with patient, silent malice.

Cousin Bette is a gripping tale of violent jealousy, sexual passion, and treachery, and a brilliant portrayal of the grasping, bourgeois society of 1840s Paris. The culmination of La Comédie humaine, Balzac's epic chronicle of his times, it is one of his greatest triumphs as a novelist.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780140441604

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 02 December 2004

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Contributors:

  • Translated by Marion Crawford

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 20.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 325g

Pages: 464

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Honoré de Balzac Literary Fiction Penguin Books Penguin Classics

About the Author

Honore de Balzac was born in Tours in 1799 to a bourgeouis family. His first success with writing came with the publication of Les Chouans in 1829 which was followed by a vast collection of novels and short stories of which Cousin Bette, first published in 1847, is one of the chief novels. He died in 1850 only a few months after his marriage to the Polish countess Evelina Hanska, with whom he had conducted a romantic correspondence for 18 years. Marion Crawford translated two other titles for Penguin; Old Goriot and Eugenie Grandet before her death in 1973.

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