Résumé
Résumé de Une ténébreuse affaire
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À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
Readers who love historical fiction, spy and police intrigue, courtroom drama, or tales of loyalty and first love in the Napoleonic years will enjoy this novel.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
Picture a man sitting in the autumn sun, cleaning a heavy rifle with great care. His wife and his mother-in-law watch him in fear. He has no game bag and no plan to hunt. The man is Michu, bailiff of the great estate of Gondreville, and his neighbours call him Judas. Whom does he mean to shoot?
An Historical Mystery, also called The Gondreville Mystery, is a novel by Honoré de Balzac, set in Champagne between 1803 and 1806.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A feared bailiff guards a stolen estateFree
- 2A bailiff overhears the plot and acts
- 3Michu gets a spy drunk and rides
- 4A young countess faces the police
- 5A hidden cellar saves four lives
- 6Two brothers love one cousin, and a warning comes
- 7A day of gold, a vanished senator, a sudden arrest
- 8Clever lawyers, a lured wife and a trial begins
- 9Loyalty, love and pride carry a price
- 10Power shapes justice and the truth stays hidden
- 11A narrator who tells history and paints faces
Point clé 1 sur 11
A feared bailiff guards a stolen estate
The story opens on the fifteenth of November, 1803, in the clearing before Gondreville Park. Michu, short, stout and red-bearded, cleans a rifle while his wife Marthe and her old mother look on. The whole district fears him.
Balzac explains why. Michu was once head keeper for the Simeuse family, who raised him kindly. During the Terror he led the Jacobin club at Arcis, and he watched his old master and mistress go to the scaffold. Gondreville was sold as national property, and Malin, a clever politician now on the Council of State, was the real buyer. Michu stayed on as bailiff, and the police have watched him since he threatened Marion.
Then two strangers cross the clearing, a coarse older man and a pale, cold dandy named Corentin. Michu feels at once that this dandy will destroy him. A hated face can hide a loyal heart.
That’s 1 of 11 key points.
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Who’s who
- Michu
- The feared bailiff of Gondreville, nicknamed Judas, who secretly guards the Simeuse family's fortune and will risk his life for its young heirs.
- Marthe Michu
- Michu's gentle wife, daughter of a revolutionary judge, who lives in shame and learns to see her husband's true worth.
- Laurence de Cinq-Cygne
- A fearless young countess who rides, plots and defies the police, and loves her two cousins equally.
- Paul-Marie and Marie-Paul de Simeuse
- Identical twin brothers, returned exiles, who both love Laurence and want to win back the estate of Gondreville.
- Adrien d'Hauteserre
- A gentle, devoted young cousin who loves Laurence in silence, alongside his brother Robert, who understands the twins' painful rivalry.
- Malin
- A senator and survivor of every regime, who owns Gondreville through a hidden deal and fears the heirs who might claim it.
- Corentin
- A cold police agent in Fouché's service, clever and patient, who never forgives an insult.
- Bordin and de Grandville
- The old lawyer and his gifted young assistant who defend the accused, knowing the odds are against them.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 69,900 words
- Reading timeAbout 4 h 55 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 11 other languages
Questions about Une ténébreuse affaire
What is An Historical Mystery by Balzac about?
It follows the aftermath of a plot against Napoleon, as a loyal bailiff and a young countess protect two exiled brothers and are then caught in the kidnapping of a powerful senator, leading to a tense trial.
Who is Michu in The Gondreville Mystery?
Michu is the bailiff of the Gondreville estate. Neighbours call him Judas because he served the revolutionary side, but he secretly guards the money and safety of the Simeuse family, whose twin sons he has sworn to protect.
Is An Historical Mystery based on a true story?
It is a work of fiction set in 1803 to 1806, but it uses real people and events, including Napoleon, Fouché, Talleyrand, the conspiracy of Georges Cadoudal and the Battle of Jena, as its background.
Who is Corentin in this novel?
Corentin is a young, cold and clever police agent working for Fouché. He arrives at Gondreville with Peyrade to track a conspiracy, and after Laurence strikes him with her whip, he turns the case into a personal feud.
What is the main message of the book?
Balzac shows how loyalty and honour can be admirable yet leave people exposed to power and intrigue. He also shows how courts and governments can be steered by hidden interests, so that appearances count for more than truth.
Cite this edition
Balzac, Honoré de. An Historical Mystery (The Gondreville Mystery). Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/an-historical-mystery-the-gondreville-mystery.
Balzac, H. de. (2026). An historical mystery (the Gondreville mystery). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/an-historical-mystery-the-gondreville-mystery (Original work published 1841)
Balzac, Honoré de. An Historical Mystery (The Gondreville Mystery). Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/an-historical-mystery-the-gondreville-mystery.
@book{balzac2026historical,
author = {Balzac, Honoré de},
title = {An Historical Mystery (The Gondreville Mystery)},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/an-historical-mystery-the-gondreville-mystery},
note = {First published 1841}
}
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