2 h 44 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 2 h 44 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if you return alive, but everyone who benefits from your death wants you to stay dead?
In Paris after Napoleon’s fall, Colonel Chabert enters a busy law office with an extraordinary claim. Thought dead at Eylau, the former cavalry officer wants his name, his marriage and his rights restored. The clerks laugh at the stranger, but the careful lawyer Derville listens—and begins to weigh his story.
Chabert’s wife, now the Countess Ferraud, has wealth, children and a place in society to protect. Her new husband fears scandal as he seeks high office. In Honoré de Balzac’s short novel, a claim for justice becomes a struggle over money, memory and whether a man’s past still belongs to him.
What you’ll discover
- A soldier without a name Meet a ruined war hero whose memories and scars cannot simply restore his rights.
- A lawyer who listens Follow Derville as he weighs an unlikely claim and seeks justice through a quiet settlement.
- A countess under pressure Encounter a woman whose desire for security puts her against the husband who returns.
- Paris behind the paperwork Step into a cramped office where quick jokes reveal how casually strangers face cruelty.
- The cost of identity Explore what a name is worth when money and marriage depend on denying it.
Who will love it
Readers who love compact stories with strong moral questions, vivid portraits of Paris after Napoleon, and sharp lawyers and society wives will enjoy this novella. It also suits those drawn to lost identity.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A living man returns as dead
- Derville listens where others have laughed
- Home offers no place for him
- The Countess fears losing her marriage
- Tenderness follows a failed agreement
- Documents cannot contain a person's identity
- Honor has a different measure
- Small details reveal social judgments
- The man matters beyond his claim
Who’s who
- Colonel ChabertA cavalry officer of Napoleon, left for dead at Eylau, who wants his name, his wife and his rank back.
- DervilleA sharp young Paris attorney who listens to Chabert's story, lends him money and tries to win him a fair settlement.
- Comtesse FerraudChabert's widow, now remarried to a count, who wants to keep her wealth, her family and her place in society.
- Comte FerraudA royalist Councillor of State whose political ambitions depend on his wife's fortune and his standing at court.
- DelbecqThe Count's clever secretary, a ruined lawyer who serves the Countess in hope of a judge's post.
- VergniaudA poor dairyman and former soldier of Chabert's regiment who shelters him and is hurt to be repaid.
- BoucardThe head clerk of Derville's office, who bets that the old man in the box coat is a colonel.
- GodeschalThe third clerk, who later takes over the practice and hears the whole story from Derville.
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 15 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
Colonel Chabert 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.
Colonel Chabert
by Honoré de Balzac · 1832
A dead colonel walks into a Paris law office and asks a young lawyer to give him back his name, wife and fortune.
Medium levelUnder 2 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
Picture a law office in Paris on a cold February morning. Five clerks eat bread and cheese and bet on a shabby old man in a worn box coat.
Colonel Chabert at a glance
- Reading time
- About 1 h 35 min1 h 15 min fast, 1 h 50 min slow
- Length
- 22,300 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1832by 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 joke at the lawyer's office goes sour
The story opens in the office of Maître Derville, an attorney on the Rue Vivienne. The clerks are the first face of the law that Chabert meets.
An old man climbs the stairs in a worn box coat and leaking boots. This is his fifth visit. He is polite, hungry and tired, and nobody offers him a chair. The clerks tell him the master sees clients only at one in the morning, hoping to be rid of a man who cannot pay.
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 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1832
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 1 h 45 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Balzac, Honoré de. Colonel Chabert. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/colonel-chabert.
Balzac, H. de. (2026). Colonel Chabert. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/colonel-chabert (Original work published 1832)
Balzac, Honoré de. Colonel Chabert. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/colonel-chabert.
@book{balzac2026colonel,
author = {Balzac, Honoré de},
title = {Colonel Chabert},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/colonel-chabert},
note = {First published 1832}
}
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 Colonel Chabert
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 Colonel Chabert about?
It tells of a Napoleonic cavalry colonel, left for dead at the battle of Eylau, who returns to Paris years later. He asks a young lawyer to help him reclaim his name, wife and fortune from a world that thinks him dead.
Who is Derville in Colonel Chabert?
Derville is a young, sharp Paris attorney who is the first lawyer to listen to Chabert's whole story. He lends him money, writes to Prussia for proofs, and tries to negotiate a settlement with the Countess.
Is Colonel Chabert based on a true story?
It is a work of fiction, set in Paris around 1818 after Napoleon's fall. Balzac dated it February to March 1832. The battle of Eylau, Murat's charge and the Restoration court are real historical settings.
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.
“The dead are very wrong to come back to life.”
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
