Massimilla Doni

by Honore de Balzac

Overview

Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - - As all who are learned in such matters know, the Venetian aristocracy is the first in Europe. Its Libro d'Oro dates from before the Crusades, from a time when Venice, a survivor of Imperial and Christian Rome which had flung itself into the waters to escape the Barbarians, was already powerful and illustrious, and the head of the political and commercial world. With a few rare exceptions this brilliant nobility has fallen into utter ruin. Among the gondoliers who serve the English - to whom history here reads the lesson of their future fate - there are descendants of long dead Doges whose names are older than those of sovereigns. On some bridge, as you glide past it, if you are ever in Venice, you may admire some lovely girl in rags, a poor child belonging, perhaps, to one of the most famous patrician families. When a nation of kings has fallen so low, naturally some curious characters will be met with. It is not surprising that sparks should flash out among the ashes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783734084188
Publisher:	Outlook Verlag
Publication date:	09/25/2019
Pages:	74
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.18(d)

About the Author

French dramatist and writer Honore de Balzac (1799-1850) was well-known for his important contributions to 19th-century literature. Frenchman Balzac was born in Tours. His literary career started with some small achievements, but he gained global recognition with his ambitious undertaking, "La Comedie Humaine." Beginning in the 1830s, this vast anthology of books and stories sought to present a thorough and accurate picture of French society. Thorough observation, intricate characterizations, and a dedication to capturing the complexity of human nature define Balzac's writing style. His paintings frequently portrayed a diverse cast of persons from different socioeconomic backgrounds and examined the effects of social and economic factors on individuals. Balzac was taken to a wet nurse as a child; the following year, he was joined by his sister Laure, and they lived away from home for four years. (Although Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau's popular book Emile persuaded many mothers at the time to breastfeed their own children, sending babies to wet nurses remained common among the middle and upper classes.) When the Balzac children returned home, they were kept at a remove from their parents, which had a tremendous impact on the future novelist. His 1835 novel Le Lys dans la vallee portrays a nasty governess named Miss Caroline, who is based on his own caregiver.