12 h 18 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 12 h 18 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What is an honest name worth when your whole world runs on credit?
In Paris under the restored monarchy, Cesar Birotteau sells scents and cosmetics and takes pride in his rising position. Honest, devout and rather vain, he longs for honours beyond his shop. His wife, Constance, watches his ambitions with concern: she knows what their household can bear.
Cesar trusts the notary Roguin with his affairs, while his former employee Du Tillet pursues a career in finance without loyalty to him. Credit rests on reputation, and reputation rests on belief. As ambition brings danger, the family's standing and daughter Cesarine's future become part of the stakes.
What you’ll discover
- A shopkeeper with grand hopes Meet a decent man whose hunger for recognition tests the limits of his judgment.
- A household under strain See Constance weigh her husband's dreams against the practical needs of their home.
- The machinery of credit Explore a Paris where banking, trade and public standing depend on other people's trust.
- Loyalty beside ambition Discover Anselme Popinot's honest effort alongside Du Tillet's clever pursuit of financial success.
- A city examined closely Follow Balzac through streets, shops and laws that shape the fortunes of his characters.
Who will love it
For readers who love social novels, money plots and detailed portraits of city life, and anyone curious about Balzac’s world of trade, ambition and reputation.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A perfumer who believes in honesty
- His home, his wife and his daughter
- Ambition grows with every honour
- Trust in the wrong people
- What the novel says about money and respect
- How Balzac tells it
Who’s who
- Cesar BirotteauA Paris perfumer, honest and devout, proud of his rise and eager for honours, who trusts others more than he should.
- Constance BirotteauCesar's wife, practical and watchful, who helps in the shop and fears that her husband is reaching too far.
- Cesarine BirotteauTheir daughter, whose future and good marriage are central hopes for her parents.
- Anselme PopinotA young man tied to the shop and the family, energetic and loyal, who stands for honest effort.
- Du TilletA former employee of Cesar who has moved into finance, clever and ambitious, with no loyalty to his old master.
- RoguinA notary whom Cesar trusts with his affairs, a man whose position should make him safe.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 12 h 18 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Glanz und Elend des César Birotteau
by Honoré de Balzac · 1837
A Paris perfumer reaches for public honours as credit, debt and misplaced trust put his good name at risk.
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In short
Cesar Birotteau is a novel by Honoré de Balzac, first published in 1837. It belongs to his huge cycle of linked books called The Human Comedy, which sets out to portray French society in the years after Napoleon.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A perfumer who believes in honesty
The story opens in Paris during the Restoration, the years when the Bourbon kings were back on the throne. Cesar Birotteau is a perfumer with a shop in the city. He comes from the countryside and has climbed through hard work, and he is proud of how far he has come.
Cesar is a royalist, and he holds to the old order with real loyalty. He is also devout and cautious in his habits. Balzac presents him as a man of plain virtues who sees himself as upright, and who holds that a tradesman must keep his word to the letter.
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What is Cesar Birotteau about?
It tells of a Paris perfumer in the Restoration years who rises in business and public honour, and then faces the dangers of credit and trust. It is a study of money, pride and reputation.
Is Cesar Birotteau part of The Human Comedy?
Yes. Balzac placed it in his great cycle of linked novels, which portray French society after Napoleon. It can be read alone, without knowing the other books.
When was Cesar Birotteau written and published?
Balzac published it in 1837. It is a work of fiction, but it draws on the real world of Paris trade, banking and law in the years of the Bourbon Restoration.
The author
Honoré de Balzac
1799–1850 · French novelist
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright born in Tours in 1799. He lived and worked in Paris, where he died in 1850. He wrote The Magic Skin in 1831, Eugénie Grandet in 1833, and Father Goriot in 1835. Many of his works belong to La Comédie humaine.
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