Le Monde: Honoré de Balzac, scénariste hors pair du septième art
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Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence La Comédie humaine, described as a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is generally viewed as his magnum opus.
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culture · French novelist and playwright (1799–1850) · novelist · literary critic · writer · prose writer · journalist · art critic · essayist · dramaturge · publisher · also Honoré de Balzac, Horace de Saint- Aubin, Onoreh deh Balzaḳ, Lord R'Hoone, Ônôrē de Balzaq, Jeune ceélibataire
Born 20 May 1799 · Died 18 August 1850 · Q9711
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2026· 7 entries
Atlantico: "La fille aux yeux d’or" de Honoré de Balzac : une nouvelle fascinante par le style mais moins aboutie que les fresques balzaciennes les plus célèbres
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“the streets of Paris possess human qualities and we cannot shake off the impressions they make upon our minds.”
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“les livres sont faits pour tout le monde”
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Public attention spiked: 2,897 Wikipedia readers in one day, 3.3× the usual 875, with 0 article edits.
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Mint: Quote of the Day by Honore de Balzac: 'It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is...'
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The Conversation: Want to understand Honoré de Balzac? Try Dungeons & Dragons instead of literary theory
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2025· 3 entries
The Conversation: Honoré de Balzac’s La Comédie Humaine is a Hindu mandala
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Yahoo News UK: Honoré de Balzac’s La Comédie Humaine is a Hindu mandala
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Ouest-France: Série Les écrivains et le bord de mer. Quand Honoré de Balzac évoquait le « désert de Batz-sur-Mer »
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2024· 2 entries
MutualArt.com: Honore de Balzac - The Mysterious Mansion
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Le Figaro: Honore de Balzac - The Mysterious Mansion
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2023· 2 entries
Le Point: Secrets de Paris : découvrez les cachettes d'Honoré de Balzac
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Geo: 5 anecdotes insolites sur Honoré de Balzac
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2020· 1 entry
Le Figaro: Honoré de Balzac face à la révolution capitaliste
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2019· 1 entry
“Citation choisie pour le 6 septembre 2019.”
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2017· 1 entry
“Citation choisie pour le 22 avril 2017.”
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2014· 1 entry
The Boston Globe: ‘The Human Comedy’ by Honore de Balzac
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2009· 1 entry
“Citation choisie pour le 11 mars 2009.”
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2008· 1 entry
“behind every great fortune lies a crime,”
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1976· 1 entry
“(Jun 23, 2009) Part 1 of an interview hosted by Lawence R. Velvel, Dean, Massachusetts School of Law at Andover, 24:37. Stendhal's a good novelist, but I think the limitations of Stendhal have been rather disastrous. I think you'd do better with Balzac. If you have to imitate a Frenchman. 1982 interview in Conversations with Ursula Le Guin (2008) I was exposed to Dickens, Dumas, Victor Hugo, de Maupassant, Balzac. Muriel Rukeyser “The Education of a Poet”
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1970· 1 entry
Roland Barthes published S/Z, a detailed analysis of Balzac's story Sarrasine and a key work in structuralist literary criticism
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1955· 1 entry
Confirmed what was already suspected by several historians: the dedicatee of the novel Eugénie Grandet, a certain "Maria", turns out to be Maria Du Fresnay herself
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1878· 2 entries
James wrote with sadness about the lack of contemporary attention paid to Balzac, and lavished praise on him in four essays (in 1875, 1877, 1902, and 1913)
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James wrote: "Large as Balzac is, he is all of one piece and he hangs perfectly together"
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1850· 22 entries
Died 1850-08-18.
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“Jedni szukają nowych seksualnych doznań z różnymi kobietami, inni skupiają swoją uwagę na jednej kobiecie, uważając ją za swój ideał.”
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“L’homme qui aime bien peut commettre des crimes, il est toujours blanc comme neige aux yeux de celle qui l’aime, s’il l’aime bien. (fr.)”
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“Kobieta ze swym instynktem dręczenia jest i będzie zawsze zgubą mężczyzny.”
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“Kobieta zamężna jest niewolnicą, którą trzeba umieć posadzić na tronie.”
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“Jeśli nawet miłość nie dodaje rozumu durniom, to jednak czyni bardzo głupimi mądrych ludzi.”
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“La gloire est le soleil des morts.”
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“Sentir, aimer, souffrir, se dévouer, sera toujours le texte de la vie des femmes. (fr.)”
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“L’intelligence a tout tué… (fr.)”
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“Opis: polski odpowiednik: Wolnoć Tomku w swoim domku.”
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“Kiedy kobieta kocha, przebacza wszystko, nawet zbrodnie; kiedy nie kocha, nie przebacza niczego, nawet cnót.”
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“Kto chce za wiele dowieść, nie dowodzi niczego.”
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“La question du costume est d’ailleurs énorme chez ceux qui veulent paraître avoir ce qu’ils n’ont pas, car c’est souvent le meilleur moyen de le posséder plus tard. (fr.)”
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“Miłość woli zazwyczaj kontrasty niż podobieństwa.”
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“Społeczeństwo francuskie miało być historykiem, ja miałem być tylko sekretarzem.”
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“Ten, kto tak bardzo podoba się wszystkim – nie podoba się nikomu, a najgorszą z wad jest nie mieć żadnej.”
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“I should like one of these days to be so well known, so popular, so celebrated, so famous, that it would permit me to break wind in society, and society would think it a most natural thing.”
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“Acht Tage Fieber! Ich hätte noch Zeit gehabt ein Buch zu schreiben. Ah ja!… ich weiß. Ich bräuchte Bianchon… Bianchon würde mich retten!" - Letzte Worte, 18. August 1850, der Arzt Bianchon ist eine seiner literarischen Gestalten”
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“Intryga wyższa jest od talentu; z niczego robi coś.”
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“Egoizm jest trucizną przyjaźni.”
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“Człowiek jest mniej nieszczęśliwy, gdy nie jest nieszczęśliwy sam.”
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“Aby znaleźć w miłości narzędzie szczęścia, trzeba wypić całą czarę bezwstydu i wyrzec się szlachetnych pojęć, które są rozgrzeszeniem błędów miłości.”
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1847· 1 entry
“Le cousin Pons (1847), translated by Ellen Marriage, ch. XLVI”
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1846· 1 entry
“La cousine Bette (1846), translated by Sylvia Raphael, ch. XXXVII: Moral reflections on immorality”
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1845· 2 entries
Awarded Knight of the Legion of Honour (1845).
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“Honorine (1845), translated by Clara Bell”
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1844· 1 entry
“Modeste Mignon (1844), translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley, ch. XXIV: The Poet Feels That He Is Loved Too Well”
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1843· 1 entry
“La Muse du Département (1843), translated by James Waring, part II, ch. XXXIV (part XIII in the translated version)”
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1842· 1 entry
“La Fausse Maîtresse (1842), translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley, ch. II”
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1841· 1 entry
And his widow and her admirer finally had the chance to pursue their affections
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1839· 2 entries
Career landmark: president of the Société des gens de lettres (1839–1840).
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“Massimilla Doni (1839), translated by Clara Bell and James Waring”
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1838· 1 entry
“Les Employés [The Government Clerks] (1838), translated by James Waring; also known as Bureaucracy, or, A Civil Service Reformer.”
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1837· 1 entry
“Letter to Evelina de Hanska (31 May 1837), translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley”
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1836· 1 entry
Balzac took the helm of the Chronique de Paris, a weekly magazine of society and politics
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1835· 1 entry
“Le Contrat de mariage, Scènes de la vie privée (1835)”
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1834· 4 entries
8 months after the event, Maria Du Fresnay's daughter by Balzac, Marie-Caroline Du Fresnay, was born
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Eight months after the event, Maria Du Fresnay's daughter by Balzac, Marie-Caroline Du Fresnay, was born
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“La Recherche de l'Absolu [The Quest of the Absolute] (1834), translated by Ellen Marriage”
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“La Duchesse de Langeais (1834), translated by Ellen Marriage, part II”
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1833· 3 entries
“Eugénie Grandet (1833), translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley, ch. VI”
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Balzac released Eugénie Grandet, his first best-seller
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As he revealed in a letter to his sister, Balzac entered into an illicit affair with fellow writer Maria Du Fresnay, who was then aged 24
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1832· 3 entries
“Letter to Zulma Carraud (2 July 1832), translated by C. Lamb Kenney”
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(he slipped and cracked his head on the street), Balzac decided not to stand for election
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Balzac conceived the idea for a large series of books that would paint a panoramic portrait of "all aspects of society"
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1830· 3 entries
“La Maison du Chat-qui-pelote [At the Sign of the Cat and Racket] (1830), translated by Clara Bell”
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“Royal House of Bourbon, but not without qualifications. He felt that the new July Monarchy (which claimed widespread popular support) was disorganized and unprincipled, in need of a mediator to keep the political peace between the King and insurgent forces. He called for”
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Balzac declared himself a Legitimist, supporting King Charles' Royal House of Bourbon, but not without qualifications
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1829· 1 entry
“Opis: Filozofia małżeństwa. Katechizm małżeński (1829).”
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1821· 1 entry
Balzac met Auguste Le Poitevin, who convinced the author to write short stories, which Le Poitevin would then sell to publishers
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1820· 1 entry
Balzac completed the five-act verse tragedy Cromwell
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1819· 3 entries
Passez offered to make Balzac his successor, but his apprentice had had enough of the Law
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Studied at Paris Law Faculty (1816–1819).
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,Passez offered to make Balzac his successor, but his apprentice had had enough of the Law
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1816· 3 entries
Studied at Lycée Charlemagne (1814–1816).
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Balzac entered the Sorbonne, where he studied under François Guizot, who later became Prime Minister, was Professor of Modern History; Abel-François Villemain, a recent arrival from the Collège Charlemagne, lectured on F
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Studied at University of Paris (1816).
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1814· 1 entry
The Balzac family moved to Paris, and Honoré was sent to private tutors and schools for the next two and a half years
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1800· 1 entry
And 1802 and his younger brother, Henry-François, in 1807
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1799· 1 entry
Born 1799-05-20.
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