Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide
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About this ebook
This engaging summary presents an analysis of Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac, a semi-autobiographical novel that draws on aspects of the author’s own experiences as a printer, writer, journalist and would-be inventor. It centres on a pair of childhood friends from Angoulême, one of whom seeks fame and fortune in Paris while the other struggles to keep his printing business afloat in his hometown. However, the corruption and decadence of Paris may lead them both to ruin… Lost Illusions is the longest novel in Honoré de Balzac’s monumental series La Comédie Humaine, which comprised more than 90 loosely connected works of fiction that aimed to create a comprehensive portrait of French society. Balzac is considered to be one of the most important French authors of the 19th century, and was one of the leading figures of the realist movement.
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• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection
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Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac (Book Analysis) - Bright Summaries
FRENCH WRITER
Born in Tours in 1799.
Died in Paris in 1850.
Notable works:
The Chouans (1829), novel
Eugénie Grandet (1833), novel
Father Goriot (1835), novel
Honoré de Balzac was one of the most significant French writers of the 19th century. He carved out a place for himself in the world of the Parisian aristocracy as a young man, and quickly became a fixture of its social scene. However, he was soon ruined by a series of disastrous business ventures and his decadent lifestyle, and was only able to pay off the enormous debts he had racked up by becoming a writer, a vocation which he pursued with great enthusiasm and diligence.
His lofty literary ambitions led him to begin a monumental work known as La Comédie Humaine (The Human Comedy
), which consists of more than 90 novels and novellas and aimed to paint a comprehensive portrait of 19th-century French society with a level of detail to rival even the official civil records. The best-known novels in the series include Eugénie Grandet (1833) and Father Goriot (1835).
Balzac is considered to be one of the founding fathers of the modern realist novel.
BALZACIAN REALISM AT ITS FINEST
Genre: novel
Reference edition: Balzac,