12 h 47 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 when a forgotten musician owns a fortune in beauty—and everyone sees its value but him?
In Honoré de Balzac’s Cousin Pons, Sylvain Pons lives for good food, fine objects and his friend Wilhelm Schmucke. The aging musician gathers paintings and rare craft on a small income, unaware of their great worth. In Paris in the 1840s, his wealthy relatives expect favors in return for a place at their table.
When Pons offers to help find a husband for Cécile Camusot, his wish to be useful brings trouble. Around the two friends, interest in his collection grows. Madame Cibot sees a chance for profit, while the lawyer Fraisier gives greed a plan. Balzac sets their calculations against a friendship that values something money cannot measure.
What you’ll discover
- Two friends, one refuge Share the shabby home where Pons and Schmucke find comfort in each other’s company.
- Beauty beyond its price Explore a collector’s love for paintings and fine objects others see only as wealth.
- A place at dinner Watch family hospitality become a bitter bargain when a guest must prove his usefulness.
- Greed learns to wait Meet a concierge and a lawyer whose hopes sharpen around an old man’s possessions.
- Paris in close detail Move from theatre orchestras to junk shops through Balzac’s patient portraits of money and manners.
Who will love it
For readers who love character-driven novels, stories about collectors and beautiful things, and sharp portraits of money and manners. Friendship, art and the greed gathering around two gentle musicians give this story its heart.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Two lonely old men share one home
- A collector who cannot see his fortune
- Pons pays for his dinners with favors
- One failed favor closes every door
- The concierge sees what the old men own
- Illness makes the old men easy prey
- Fraisier arrives and turns greed into a plan
- What the story says about greed and art
- How Balzac builds the world of the novel
Who’s who
- Sylvain PonsAn aging musician and passionate collector of art, he wants only good food, beauty and the company of his friend.
- Wilhelm SchmuckeA kind and trusting German pianist who shares Pons's rooms and wants nothing more than to keep his friend close.
- Madame CibotThe concierge who cleans for the two friends and nurses them, and who wants a share of any wealth she sees.
- FraisierA cold and clever lawyer of poor name who hopes to rise by serving a powerful family.
- The Camusot de Marville familyPons's wealthy relatives, led by a judge and his wife, who want rank and a good marriage for their daughter.
- RémonencqA sharp dealer in second-hand goods from Auvergne who sees the value of old objects and wants to profit.
- Élie MagusAn expert dealer in paintings whose knowledge shows what Pons's collection is really worth.
- Doctor PoulainThe physician who treats Pons and tries to do his duty amid the greed gathering around the patient.
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 12 h 47 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.
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Il cugino Pons
by Honoré de Balzac · 1847
An old musician treasures his art and his loyal friend, while those around him see a fortune to seize.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
Two lonely old men share one home
The story opens in Paris in the 1840s. Sylvain Pons is an old man with a strange, plain face and old-fashioned clothes. He walks the streets with a quiet, dreamy air, and passersby smile at his outdated coat and hat. Yet he carries himself without bitterness, because he has something that many richer people lack.
Pons was once a young composer who won a prize in music and spent time in Rome. Back in France, he did not make a great career. He now earns a small living as a conductor in a theatre orchestra and as a teacher of music to girls from respectable houses. His pupils are fewer than they used to be, and the income is thin.
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What is Cousin Pons about?
It follows Sylvain Pons, an old musician and art collector, and his friend Schmucke. Pons owns a valuable collection he does not understand, and relatives, a concierge and a lawyer plot to gain it.
Is Cousin Pons part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to Balzac's huge cycle The Human Comedy and to the pair called Poor Relations, with Cousin Bette. It can be read alone, though characters link to other books.
When was Cousin Pons written?
Balzac wrote it in the 1840s and it was published in 1847, near the end of his life. It is set in the Paris of that period.
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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