7 h 31 minAudiobook13 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 happens to love in a house where every coin matters more than a human heart?
In Saumur, a quiet town on the Loire, Félix Grandet rules his household through money and fear. His daughter Eugénie grows up sheltered beside her obedient mother and their loyal servant, Nanon. Outside their door, rival families seek the heiress’s fortune. Inside, her father’s wealth brings little warmth.
Then Charles Grandet arrives from Paris, and Eugénie’s narrow world begins to open. As she discovers love and the wish to give, her generosity comes up against her father’s greed. Honoré de Balzac builds this family drama through rooms, clothes, habits and accounts, showing how money presses into the most private feelings.
What you’ll discover
- A house ruled by gold Step inside a wealthy household where a miser’s habits shape everyone’s daily life.
- An awakening heart Follow Eugénie as love draws her beyond the limits of her sheltered upbringing.
- Rivals around an heiress Watch two local families pursue a marriage with Eugénie and access to her fortune.
- Quiet bonds of care Meet Madame Grandet and Nanon, whose love and loyalty stand beside Eugénie.
- A world in details Discover how furniture, clothing and accounts reveal the power of money over feeling.
Who will love it
For readers who love detailed realism, family dramas about money, and the roots of the modern novel. Eugénie's story explores greed, generosity, and love in a household ruled by a miser.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A dark house in a quiet town
- How Grandet built his fortune
- Two families circle the heiress
- A birthday and a cousin from Paris
- The letter that brings disaster
- Eugénie learns to love and to give
- A promise made and a storm to come
- What money does to love and family
- How Balzac tells the story
Who’s who
- Eugénie GrandetThe gentle, sheltered daughter of the house, who has never known love and gives her heart and her savings to her cousin.
- Félix GrandetA former barrel maker turned rich winegrower and mayor, who rules his family and counts every coin.
- Madame GrandetGrandet's pale, pious and obedient wife, who lives in fear of her husband and loves her daughter quietly.
- NanonThe strong, loyal servant who has worked in the house for years and would do anything for Eugénie.
- Charles GrandetA fashionable young Parisian and Eugénie's cousin, who arrives in Saumur unaware of the ruin awaiting his family.
- Cruchot de BonfonsA stiff local judge, nephew of the notary, who is determined to win Eugénie and her fortune.
- Madame des GrassinsThe lively wife of the town banker, who hopes to marry her son to the Grandet heiress.
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
- 7 h 31 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 Eugénie Grandet 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.
Eugénie Grandet
by Honoré de Balzac · 1833
A cousin arrives from Paris, awakening love in Eugénie's sheltered life under her miserly father's rule.
Medium level5–10 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
Eugénie Grandet is a novel by Honoré de Balzac, published in France in 1833. It belongs to his huge cycle of linked books called The Human Comedy, in the section named Scenes from Provincial Life.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A dark house in a quiet town
Balzac opens not with a person but with a place. Saumur is an old town on the Loire, and its upper streets are narrow, silent and a little sad. At the end of one such street stands the Grandet house, gloomy and damp, with barred windows and a heavy door. A reader sees at once that nothing here is built for pleasure.
Inside, the rooms match the outside. The main room on the ground floor is cold, poorly furnished and lit as little as possible. The staircase is rotten, and Grandet hates to spend a coin on it. Each detail tells you that the owner would rather save a coin than make anyone comfortable, even himself.
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 Eugénie Grandet
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 Eugénie Grandet about?
It tells of a sheltered young woman in the town of Saumur whose miserly father rules the household. When her cousin Charles arrives from Paris in trouble, her love for him tests her father's greed and her own courage.
When was Eugénie Grandet written and is it a true story?
Balzac published it in 1833. It is a work of fiction, though it draws on real provincial life in the Loire region after the French Revolution and on the habits of the people Balzac observed.
Where does Eugénie Grandet fit in The Human Comedy?
It belongs to Balzac's cycle of linked novels called The Human Comedy, in the section Scenes from Provincial Life. The cycle portrays French society across classes, places and professions in the early nineteenth century.
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
