7 h 31 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 31 minPaperback · 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
You will love this book if you enjoy vivid characters, family drama, quiet love stories and sharp portraits of a small town, or if you like seeing what money costs people.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A fortune shapes a family's life
- Saving becomes a way to rule
- Suitors gather around the heiress
- Charles arrives with a hidden ruin
- Eugénie gives love a material form
- Her secret meets her father's will
- Money puts every heart on trial
- Small objects carry private fears
- Keeping wealth can cost human feeling
Who’s who
- Eugénie GrandetThe quiet, devout daughter of the richest man in Saumur, she has never known freedom and wishes to love and be loved.
- Monsieur GrandetA former cooper turned millionaire winegrower, he saves on everything and wants to increase his gold and keep control of it.
- Madame GrandetGrandet's gentle, timid wife, who obeys him in silence and wants peace and happiness for her daughter.
- NanonThe tall, loyal servant who has worked for Grandet for thirty-five years and wants only to serve the family she loves.
- Charles GrandetEugénie's elegant Paris cousin, who arrives ruined by his father's bankruptcy and hopes to rebuild his life and his fortune.
- The president de BonfonsA young judge of the Cruchot family who pursues Eugénie and her millions with patience and legal cunning.
- Madame des GrassinsA lively banker's wife who schemes to marry her son Adolphe to the heiress and defeat the Cruchots.
- Abbé CruchotThe clever, plump priest who guides his family's campaign to win Eugénie for his nephew.
Formats and delivery
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- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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Eugénie Grandet
by Honoré de Balzac · 1833
A miser's daughter in Saumur gives her gold to a ruined cousin, and her father's rage is only beginning.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEnglish
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In short
What would you do if your father loved gold more than his own wife and child? In Saumur, in a gray house at the top of a steep street, Monsieur Grandet counts every lump of sugar and every candle end.
Eugénie Grandet at a glance
- Reading time
- About 4 h 20 min3 h 25 min fast, 5 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 61,700 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1833by 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
The gray house mirrors the man who owns it
Balzac opens with a street, not a person. It climbs toward the old château in Saumur, and its wooden houses lean under three centuries. Life here is lived on doorsteps, and every neighbor sees everything.
At the top stands the house of Monsieur Grandet. Its gateway is cut from soft white stone eaten away by weather. Inside, one wood-paneled hall serves as office, salon and dining room all at once.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1833
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4 h 55 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Balzac, Honoré de. Eugénie Grandet. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/eugenie-grandet.
Balzac, H. de. (2026). Eugénie Grandet. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/eugenie-grandet (Original work published 1833)
Balzac, Honoré de. Eugénie Grandet. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/eugenie-grandet.
@book{balzac2026eugenie,
author = {Balzac, Honoré de},
title = {Eugénie Grandet},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/eugenie-grandet},
note = {First published 1833}
}
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What is Eugénie Grandet about?
It tells of a rich miser in the town of Saumur and his shy daughter Eugénie. When a ruined cousin from Paris arrives, she falls in love and gives him her savings, which brings her into conflict with her father.
Who is Monsieur Grandet in Eugénie Grandet?
Grandet is a former cooper who grew rich by buying church lands and vineyards after the Revolution. He is known across Saumur as a master of business and a famous miser, who rations food and candles at home.
When was Eugénie Grandet written, and is it a true story?
Balzac published it in 1833 as a work of fiction. The characters are invented, but the town of Saumur, the wine trade and the money habits of the time are drawn from real French provincial life.
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
See all their booksMore like this
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