12 h 11 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 12 h 11 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a mother's deepest love goes to the son who takes the most from her?
In Honoré de Balzac's The Two Brothers, Agathe Bridau lives on little in Paris after Napoleon's fall. Her elder son, Philippe, is a swaggering soldier without pay or a place in the new order. Joseph, her younger son, paints and quietly supports the family. Yet Agathe's affection does not follow their deeds.
Far away in Issoudun, Agathe's timid brother, Jean-Jacques Rouget, holds a fortune that might help her family. But Flore Brazier runs his household and wants to keep its comforts. Maxence Gilet, a veteran who leads the troublesome Knights of Idleness, also eyes the money. Family hopes meet rivals with ambitions of their own.
What you’ll discover
- Two sons, unequal love Watch a mother's devotion reward the son who wastes it and overlook the one who gives.
- A fortune under pressure Enter a household where a timid man's wealth draws competing claims and determined rivals.
- Mischief in Issoudun Meet the Knights of Idleness, whose cruel sport turns a provincial town into their playground.
- A society in detail Explore rooms, clothes, debts, and habits that reveal how Balzac's people live and what they value.
- The price of affection Follow a family that uses money to measure love, while patience and generosity go unrecognized.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you like family sagas, sharp portraits of greed and charm, scheming rivals, small-town gossip, and a mother's blind love set against a clever villain.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A mother's devotion feeds the danger
- The overlooked brother does the work
- Forgiveness lets Philippe's thefts spread
- Flore turns affection into household power
- Honesty meets a carefully arranged trap
- Philippe studies Max as an enemy
- Resemblance blinds Agathe to character
- Rooms and clothes reveal their owners
- Steady kindness offers another kind of strength
Who’s who
- Agathe BridauA gentle, pious widow who adores her soldier son and fails to see how much her painter son does for her.
- Philippe BridauA brave but selfish cavalry officer who wants pleasure, rank and money, and takes them from whoever stands near.
- Joseph BridauThe untidy younger brother who wants only to paint, and who supports his mother with quiet, steady kindness.
- Madame DescoingsAgathe's cheerful aunt by marriage, who loves good food and the lottery and spoils both boys.
- Jean-Jacques RougetAgathe's timid brother, a rich old bachelor who cannot bear to lose the servant who rules him.
- Flore BrazierThe beautiful former crab-catching girl who runs Rouget's house and wants security for herself and Max.
- Maxence GiletA handsome, ruthless ex-officer and grand master of the Knights of Idleness who plots to keep Rouget's fortune.
- Monsieur HochonA miserly old neighbor who sees the schemes clearly and becomes Philippe's adviser in Issoudun.
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
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- 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.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
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 USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 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
The Two Brothers in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Two Brothers
by Honoré de Balzac · 1842
A mother adores her brutal soldier son and neglects the painter who supports her while a fortune awaits.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“A writer of the 20th century may also, on occasion, feel imprisoned by his time, and reading the great 19th century novelists – Balzac, Dickens, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky – may bring on a certain nostalgia.”
In short
What happens when a mother loves the wrong son? In The Two Brothers, Agathe Bridau pours her devotion into Philippe, a swaggering cavalry officer, and has little patience for Joseph, the untidy boy who wants to paint.
The Two Brothers at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h5 h 30 min fast, 8 h 20 min slow
- Length
- 99,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1842by Honoré de Balzac
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A cruel doctor shapes his family's fate
In 1792 Doctor Rouget is the physician of Issoudun, and the neighbors fear him. He treats his frail wife with cold contempt. Their son Jean-Jacques grows up dull and timid. Ten years later comes a daughter, Agathe, whom the doctor never accepts as his own.
He sends Agathe to Paris to stay with her uncle Descoings, a grocer. The Terror strikes, and Descoings goes to the scaffold. A devoted clerk named Bridau marries Agathe, and her father later cuts her out of her inheritance. Bridau serves Napoleon and works himself to death in 1808. Agathe now lives only for her two sons.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1842
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 55 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Balzac, Honoré de. The Two Brothers. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-two-brothers.
Balzac, H. de. (2026). The two brothers. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-two-brothers (Original work published 1842)
Balzac, Honoré de. The Two Brothers. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-two-brothers.
@book{balzac2026two,
author = {Balzac, Honoré de},
title = {The Two Brothers},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-two-brothers},
note = {First published 1842}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 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
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Two Brothers
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 Two Brothers about?
It follows Agathe Bridau and her sons, the favored soldier Philippe and the neglected painter Joseph. Philippe's vices ruin the household, and the family later fights for her brother's fortune in the provincial town of Issoudun.
Who is the Rabouilleuse in Balzac's novel?
She is Flore Brazier, a peasant girl who once stirred streams to catch crabs, an act called rabouiller. The doctor takes her in, and she later rules Jean-Jacques Rouget's house and loves Max Gilet.
What are the Knights of Idleness?
They are a secret group of about twenty young men in Issoudun, led by Max Gilet, who play elaborate night pranks on the townspeople. They meet for suppers at a tavern run by Mère Cognette.
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.
“Uncles are made to be plundered.”
More by Honoré de Balzac
See all their 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
