A STREET OF PARIS
AND
ITS INHABITANT
HONORE DE BALZAC
PREPARER'S NOTE
PREFACE
I. PHYSIOGNOMY OF THE STREET
II. SILHOUETTE OF THE INHABITANT
III. MADAME ADOLPHE
IV. INCONVENIENCE OF QUAYS WHERE ARE BOOK STALLS
Balzac opens with a vivid portrait of a neglected Parisian lane, a crooked street that seems to have slipped out of the city’s official map. He sketches its uneven paving, the crumbling walls laced with broken bottles, and a small green‑painted garden door that has become a signal for both lovers and thieves. The atmosphere is one of quiet decay, a silent corner shadowed by the grander vistas of Luxembourg and the convent, inviting curiosity about who might make such a place a home.
From that hidden door steps a peculiar old man, his massive belly forcing him into oversized trousers and a faded frock coat. His unpolished shoes, the single gloved hand, and the red ribbon he wears hint at a life of modest means yet stubborn dignity. As he emerges into the afternoon light, the listener is drawn into the everyday drama of a street and its solitary resident, setting the stage for a quietly luminous tale of Parisian life.
Language
en
Duration
~23 minutes (22K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Dagny, John Bickers and David Widger
Release date
2004-06-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1799–1850
A giant of French fiction, this restless, ambitious storyteller built a whole literary world in La Comédie humaine, capturing the dreams, vanities, and struggles of 19th-century society. His novels still feel lively because they care so much about money, power, love, and the ways people reinvent themselves.
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