
BEATRIX
By Honore De Balzac
NOTE
BEATRIX
I. A BRETON TOWN AND MANSION
II. THE BARON, HIS WIFE, AND SISTER
III. THREE BRETON SILHOUETTES
IV. A NORMAL EVENING
V. CALYSTE
VI. BIOGRAPHY OF CAMILLE MAUPIN
In a remote corner of Brittany, the town of Guérande clings to its medieval armor of walls, moats and iron‑clamped drawbridge, a living museum of an age when feudal customs ruled daily life. The narrow streets and ancient mansions echo the manners of Louis XV, while the distant hum of modern industry drifts in like an unfamiliar tide. Balzac paints this stubborn enclave as both a sanctuary of tradition and a place on the brink of inevitable change.
Into this timeless tableau steps Beatrix, a young woman whose beauty and spirit stir the old aristocratic family that still inhabits the town’s grand mansion. She navigates the expectations of a society that reveres lineage and ceremony, yet feels the pull of the new world beyond the fortified gates. As love, ambition, and the whisper of progress begin to stir, Beatrix becomes the focal point of a delicate dance between past and future, inviting listeners to explore the fragile balance of heritage and desire.
Language
en
Duration
~11 hours (658K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny, and David Widger
Release date
Jun 1, 2004
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1799–1850
Best known for the vast world of La Comédie humaine, this French novelist turned ordinary ambitions, debts, scandals, and desires into stories that still feel startlingly alive. His books helped shape literary realism by showing society in all its energy, vanity, and struggle.
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by Honoré de Balzac

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