10 h 55 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 10 h 55 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if every wish you grant yourself takes away a piece of your life?
In Honoré de Balzac’s The Magic Skin, Raphaël de Valentin has good family connections but no money and little reason to live. In a crowded antique shop in Paris, an old dealer offers him a scrap of leather that grants whatever he desires. Each wish makes it smaller—and shortens his life.
An extravagant feast puts the bargain to the test. Around Raphaël, Balzac gathers gamblers, a wealthy countess named Foedora, and Pauline, who cares for him in poverty while he barely notices her. Money, ambition, and love press against a frightening question: how can he live without wanting?
What you’ll discover
- A bargain with teeth Watch a promise of limitless pleasure turn every ordinary wish into a threat.
- Paris in sharp detail Step among gambling tables, crowded curiosities, and lavish feasts where money shapes desire.
- Two contrasting women Meet the admired Foedora and kind Pauline, whose care Raphaël struggles to see.
- A life spent wanting Follow a harsh moral puzzle that makes pleasure and survival pull against each other.
- Fantasy meets close observation Discover how Balzac places a supernatural threat within the concrete habits of Parisian life.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you like fable mixed with a vivid picture of a city, witty talk about money and love, and if you have wondered what your wishes really cost.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A ruined young man loses his last coin
- An antiques dealer offers a deadly bargain
- Every wish costs days of life
- A banquet shows a society that believes nothing
- A strict father, a lost fortune, an attic
- Foedora is a woman without a heart
- Wild living, heavy debts, and a sudden fortune
- He tries to live without wanting anything
- Science and medicine cannot stop the shrinking
- What the skin means and how it works
Who’s who
- Raphael de ValentinA gifted, poor young man who wants fame and love, and who takes a skin that grants wishes and takes his life in return.
- Pauline GaudinThe landlady's daughter who cares for Raphael in his attic, and who loves him with a steady, selfless devotion.
- FoedoraA beautiful, rich countess who attracts every admirer in Paris and loves none, and who wants only admiration.
- EmileA witty, lazy journalist and Raphael's loyal friend, who listens to the long story told at the banquet.
- RastignacA clever, worldly Gascon who teaches Raphael how society works and urges him into wild living.
- The antiques dealerA tiny old man of great learning who owns the talisman and offers it to a young man ready to die.
- JonathanRaphael's old servant, who runs the great house by strict rules and loves his master like a son.
- TailleferA rich banker who hosts the great feast, and who is rumored to have killed for his money.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 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.
The Magic Skin
by Honoré de Balzac · 1831
A ruined young man takes a leather skin that grants every wish and shrinks with each one.
Medium level10–20 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 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 USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Paris, October 1829. A young man in a worn hat climbs the stairs of a gambling den at the Palais-Royal with one gold coin in his hand.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A ruined young man loses his last coin
The novel opens at number 36 in the Palais-Royal, where a young man hands over his hat and walks into a gambling salon. The old players and the croupier feel a chill when he enters, because his face holds failure and a faded grace. Even these hardened gamblers pity him.
He throws down one gold coin. It lands on black. A young Italian bets his whole pile against it, red wins, and the croupier's rake sweeps the coin away. The young man's lips go pale, and he leaves without a plea for pity.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1831
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 5 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Balzac, Honoré de. The Magic Skin. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-magic-skin.
Balzac, H. de. (2026). The magic skin. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-magic-skin (Original work published 1831)
Balzac, Honoré de. The Magic Skin. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-magic-skin.
@book{balzac2026magic,
author = {Balzac, Honoré de},
title = {The Magic Skin},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-magic-skin},
note = {First published 1831}
}
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 Magic Skin
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 Magic Skin about?
It tells of Raphael de Valentin, a ruined young man in Paris who receives a piece of leather that grants every wish but shrinks with each one, shortening his life. The story follows how he spends his wishes.
Who is Raphael de Valentin?
Raphael is the hero, a talented young writer from an old family, ruined by his father's lawsuits. He lives in an attic, loves the cold countess Foedora, and becomes rich through the skin.
What does the Magic Skin symbolize?
The skin stands for a human life and for desire itself. Each wish makes it smaller, so it shows how wanting and getting use up our time and strength, and how little of both we truly have.
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
