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Cover of Eugénie Grandet

Fiction

Eugénie Grandet

Translated by Clara Bell

A young woman with a miserly father falls in love with her cousin.

First published
1833
Length
75,868 words
Reading time
About 5 hr 17 min
Language
English (US)

About the book

M. Grandet, a vine-grower, lessor, and ruthless businessman, is the richest man in the town of Saumur. He’s also a miser: he lives in a decrepit house, parcels out sugar and eggs as if they’ll never be replenished, and lights only a single candle in the parlor at night. He’s worth many millions, but he and his family live as paupers.

His daughter, Eugénie, has no idea they’re rich; austerity is all she has ever known. But the arrival of a handsome, impoverished cousin from Paris, and the love she develops for him, makes her begin to see things differently. When she decides to help her cousin, her father’s reaction throws the family into crisis, and it’s unclear how it can resolved—if it can be resolved at all.

First published 1833; the Read4Max reading text contains approximately 75,868 words arranged in 3 navigable sections.

The source metadata identifies Translator: Clara Bell.

About the author

Honoré de Balzac

Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) is described by Wikidata as French novelist and playwright (1799–1850), with citizenship or national association recorded as France.

Recorded occupations include novelist, literary critic, writer, prose writer, journalist, and art critic. Languages recorded for Honoré de Balzac include French. The structured record associates Honoré de Balzac with literary realism. Wikidata lists Père Goriot, The Human Comedy, Illusions perdues, Eugénie Grandet, Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes, and La Peau de chagrin among Honoré de Balzac's notable works. Open Library identifies The Fatal Skin ... Translated ... by Cedar Paul (Novel Library.) as a leading work in its author record. Open Library catalogs 1 works under this author record. The Read4Max catalog currently includes A Daughter of Eve, A Marriage Settlement, A Start in Life, A Woman of Thirty, Albert Savarus, Eugénie Grandet, and Letters of Two Brides under Honoré de Balzac's authorship.

Contributors

Translator

Clara Bell

Reading options

  • A complete text with direct section navigation in the browser reader.
  • A downloadable EPUB for phones, tablets, desktop reading apps, and compatible ereaders.
  • Book and contributor metadata are checked against the source edition before indexing.

Themes and ideas

  • Fathers and daughters
  • Misers
  • France
  • French fiction

Table of contents

Open reader
  1. Dedication
  2. Eugénie Grandet
  3. Eugénie Grandet