13 h 45 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 13 h 45 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the city that promises you fame asks you to sell your honesty first?
Lucien Chardon leaves Angoulême for Paris with talent, a handsome face and dreams of becoming rich and admired. His patroness, Madame de Bargeton, promises a way into society. But in the capital, his clothes look cheap, his manners invite judgment, and the welcome he expects begins to disappear.
In Honoré de Balzac's A Distinguished Provincial at Paris, Lucien faces two paths. Daniel d'Arthez and the poor artists of the Cénacle offer friendship and patient work. Étienne Lousteau opens the newspaper world, where praise has a price and a clever attack can pay. For a poet hungry for recognition, the choice reaches beyond earning a living.
What you’ll discover
- A city that judges Enter salons where clothes, rank and manners matter more than the talent Lucien brings.
- The trade in praise See how newspaper reviews become weapons for profit rather than honest judgments of books.
- Friendship without wealth Meet the Cénacle, whose poor artists offer Lucien a different measure of literary worth.
- Love with real stakes Meet Coralie, the young actress who places her home, money and trust at Lucien's service.
- Behind the literary doors Follow Balzac into bookshops, newspaper offices and theatres to see how ambition meets money.
Who will love it
For readers who love novels about ambition, money and the world of writers, and anyone who has left a small place for a big city.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A poet leaves Angoulême with a patroness
- Paris judges a man by his clothes
- Dropped by his patroness, he lives on little
- A circle of honest poor artists welcomes him
- The booksellers close their doors
- Journalism opens a door, and a new life
- A pen that praises and destroys for pay
- What the book says about ambition and money
- How Balzac tells it: a guide who knows the streets
Who’s who
- Lucien Chardon, called de RubempréA handsome young poet from Angoulême who wants fame and a noble name, and who has more talent than judgement.
- Madame de BargetonAn older noblewoman from Angoulême who brings Lucien to Paris and then must decide how much his company will cost her in society.
- Étienne LousteauA clever, worn journalist who shows Lucien how the newspaper world really works and who carries his own disappointments.
- Daniel d'ArthezA poor, patient and noble writer, the heart of the Cénacle, who gives Lucien honest advice about how to become a real author.
- CoralieA young actress at a small theatre who loves Lucien and puts her money, home and trust at his service.
- DauriatA powerful bookseller of the Palais-Royal who treats books as goods and decides which poets will be sold.
- Marquise d'EspardMadame de Bargeton's cousin, a leader of fashionable society who judges newcomers by rank and manner.
- FinotThe editor of a small paper who cares for profit and will print whatever sells.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 13 h 45 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 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.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Ein großer Provinzler in Paris in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Ein großer Provinzler in Paris
by Honoré de Balzac · 1839
A young poet arrives in Paris seeking fame, where a clever pen can earn money and enemies.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
A Distinguished Provincial at Paris is the middle part of Lost Illusions, the long novel Honoré de Balzac wrote in the 1830s and early 1840s as part of his huge cycle The Human Comedy. It follows Lucien Chardon, a young poet from the small town of Angoulême, who goes to Paris sure that his talent will make him rich and admired.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A poet leaves Angoulême with a patroness
The story begins where the first part of Lost Illusions ends. Lucien Chardon, the son of a dead apothecary, has grown up in the provincial town of Angoulême. There he was praised as a poet and a coming genius. He has taken the grander name de Rubempré, which belonged to his mother's family, in the hope that a noble name will open doors. He leaves for Paris with Madame de Bargeton, an older married woman of the local nobility who has fallen under his spell.
Louise de Bargeton, as she is called, has encouraged him for months. She is clever, bored with her small town, and eager to have a young poet on her arm. She believes that her own cousin, the Marquise d'Espard, will welcome them both. Lucien believes that his love, his sonnets and his novel will do the rest.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Ein großer Provinzler in Paris
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is A Distinguished Provincial at Paris about?
It tells how Lucien Chardon, a young poet from Angoulême, goes to Paris hoping for fame. He is rejected by society, finds honest friends, then enters journalism and learns how money and influence shape success.
Is A Distinguished Provincial at Paris part of Lost Illusions?
Yes. It is the second of the three parts of Lost Illusions. The first part shows Lucien in Angoulême, and the third shows what comes of his Paris years. It is often printed on its own.
Who is Lucien de Rubempré?
He is Lucien Chardon, an apothecary's son who takes his mother's noble family name. He is handsome, talented and ambitious, and he wants Paris to treat him as a great poet.
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.
More by Honoré de Balzac
All 25 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
