11 h 22 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the deepest kind of heroism is not winning a battle, but helping a forgotten village thrive?
Commandant Genestas rides into a mountain valley near Grenoble to meet a man whose reputation puzzles him. Dr Benassis, a country doctor and mayor, has turned a poor district into a thriving community. The cavalry officer wants to see for himself what patient work can achieve.
In The Country Doctor, Honoré de Balzac takes you along on visits to sick families and walks through the hills. Each house reveals a different need. Behind Benassis's tireless service lies a private sorrow, while his work raises a larger question: how can one person help a wounded society heal?
What you’ll discover
- A quieter kind of hero Meet a doctor whose daily care makes compassion a practical force in village life.
- A valley finding its feet Follow Benassis's account of rebuilding a community through better housing, roads, and steady work.
- Napoleon in the barn Gather with the villagers as Goguelat tells the Emperor's legend after dark.
- Lives behind each doorway Visit the sick and poor, where each household gives the doctor's work a human face.
- The question of redemption Explore the link between private sorrow, faith, and a life devoted to others.
Who will love it
For readers who love humane stories about work, community and faith, with conversation, big ideas and a warm moral tone. It also rewards anyone curious about Balzac beyond his sharper city novels.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A soldier rides into an unknown valley
- One man rebuilds a failing community
- The daily rounds show the doctor's method
- A barn tale keeps Napoleon alive
- The doctor confesses a wasted past
- What the novel says about compassion and craft
Who’s who
- Dr BenassisA country doctor and mayor who has transformed a poor mountain canton, and who carries a private sorrow behind his work.
- Commandant GenestasA cavalry officer who visits the valley under a false name to test the doctor's reputation and settle a family matter.
- JacquotteThe doctor's devoted, talkative housekeeper, who runs his home and looks after her master with fierce loyalty.
- GoguelatAn old soldier of Napoleon's wars who tells the villagers the legend of the Emperor in a barn at night.
- La FosseuseA frail young woman of the valley whom the doctor cares for, and who is deeply devoted to him.
- ButiferA strong young man of the canton whom the doctor guides toward steady work and a useful place in the community.
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
- 11 h 22 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 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 El médico rural 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.
El médico rural
by Honoré de Balzac · 1833
A soldier enters a mountain valley to discover how one doctor's compassion turns poverty into prosperity.
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
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A soldier rides into an unknown valley
The novel opens with Commandant Genestas on horseback, heading toward a mountain canton near Grenoble. He is an old campaigner, blunt, loyal and careful with his money. He has served under Napoleon and carries the habits of the army into peacetime. He is not a man given to dreaming, and he has a practical errand.
Genestas has heard talk of a doctor named Benassis who lives in the small town and who is said to have worked wonders there. The tale is almost too good to believe. A district once poor, isolated and sick has become a place of busy trades and decent houses. Genestas wants to test the story with his own eyes before he trusts it.
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 El médico rural
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 The Country Doctor by Balzac about?
It follows Commandant Genestas, who visits a mountain valley to meet Dr Benassis, a man said to have turned a poor district into a prosperous one. Through their talks and rounds, the book shows reform, faith and compassion.
When was The Country Doctor written and is it a true story?
Balzac published it in 1833. It is fiction, but it reflects real debates in France about poverty, rural life and the legacy of Napoleon. Benassis and the valley are invented characters and places.
Where does The Country Doctor fit in The Human Comedy?
It is part of Balzac's linked cycle of novels called The Human Comedy, in the group of scenes from country life. Unlike his Paris novels, it focuses on one rural district and its reform.
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 books
Free
More like this
Free
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
Popular in classics
See all
Free
Free
Free
