
The opening sweeps listeners through Paris’s tangled arteries, painting each boulevard and alley as a character in its own right—gleaming avenues of aristocracy, shadowy lanes of crime, and bustling markets where ambition and desperation collide. Against this vivid backdrop, a young man of modest means becomes fascinated by the city’s hidden currents, drawn to whispers of a powerful, secretive brotherhood that moves unseen beneath the glitter of society.
His curiosity leads him to Ferragus, the enigmatic chief of this clandestine network, whose presence hints at both danger and allure. As the protagonist navigates the contrasting worlds of elegance and intrigue, he discovers that loyalty, love, and betrayal are as fluid as the streets themselves. The story promises a richly textured portrait of early‑19th‑century Paris, where every corner may conceal a new revelation and the quest for truth becomes a perilous adventure.
Language
fi
Duration
~4 hours (259K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2015-10-20
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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