
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
2004-06-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1799–1850
A giant of French fiction, he turned the crowded streets, salons, and back rooms of 19th-century France into vivid, gripping stories. His vast cycle of novels and tales, known as La Comédie humaine, helped shape the modern realist novel.
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