Romans et contes philosophiques

The first and only modern edition of the 1831 text of Romans et contes philosophiques, an anthology of short stories exploring fundamental problems of human existence -- questions of faith, the desire for immortality, the relationship between passion and artistic creativity, family honour, parents and children, the functioning of social institutions. Balzac explores all these themes using a variety of tones and colours ranging from the satirical, to the lyrical and to the fantastic. The ant...