9 h 19 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 19 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a town where everyone watches a doctor's fortune, what chance does a gentle orphan have against his hungry relatives?
In Honoré de Balzac's Ursula, retired Doctor Minoret lives in Nemours with his beloved ward, Ursula Mirouet. She finds comfort in music and faith. His relatives see something else: a girl who threatens their claim to his money. As his health weakens, their watchful patience gives way to bolder schemes.
Minoret-Levrault and his ambitious wife, Zelie Minoret, want to protect their hold on the fortune. Meanwhile, Savinien de Portenduere loves Ursula but faces his family's pride and debts. Around them, gossip shapes choices, a priest offers friendship, and a fair-minded magistrate stands for truth. Even the skeptical doctor begins to question his certainty about the unseen.
What you’ll discover
- An inheritance under threat Follow the struggle over promised money as family claims collide with Ursula's honesty.
- A town that watches Enter Nemours, where notaries, priests, clerks, and landowners give provincial life its sharp edges.
- Music and quiet strength Discover how Ursula's music connects her inner life to the father she hardly knew.
- A skeptic's changing mind Watch Doctor Minoret question the limits of what he can touch and explain.
- Love against family pride Meet a young nobleman whose love for Ursula must contend with pride and debt.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy provincial portraits filled with schemers and gossips will love this novel. It also suits admirers of tender young love tested by pride and money, and of uncanny dreams.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- The heirs panic when the doctor goes to Mass
- Three old men raise an orphan in Nemours
- A sleeping woman in Paris shakes a skeptic
- The heirs plot over a rich breakfast
- Ursula's first love and the rescue of Savinien
- Pride keeps the lovers apart and tests them
- A dying wish is overheard and a will vanishes
- Greed and guilt drive Minoret and Goupil to cruelty
- Faith, dreams and the unseen world in the story
- How Balzac tells the tale and what to watch for
Who’s who
- Ursula MirouetA gentle, devout orphan and gifted pianist, raised by three old men, who loves Savinien and wants to bring her godfather to God.
- Doctor MinoretA retired physician and lifelong skeptic who adores his goddaughter and plans secretly to secure her future against his greedy relatives.
- Savinien de PortenduereA young nobleman from Nemours, ruined by Paris debts, who loves Ursula and fights his mother's pride to marry her.
- Minoret-LevraultThe huge, dull postmaster, nephew of the doctor, who cares only for money and fears losing his inheritance.
- Zelie MinoretThe postmaster's sharp wife, who rules the household and the books and will do anything to protect her spoiled son.
- GoupilThe notary's clever, ugly head clerk, who wants a practice of his own and sells his talent for mischief.
- Abbé ChaperonThe poor, kind priest of Nemours, who guides Ursula and becomes the doctor's closest friend.
- Monsieur BongrandThe shrewd justice of the peace who guards Ursula's interests and watches the heirs with a lawyer's eye.
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Ursula
by Honoré de Balzac · 1841
An unbelieving doctor turns to God for his goddaughter Ursula, and his greedy heirs close in on her future.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
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In short
What would you do if the rich uncle you counted on walked into church with a young girl on his arm? In the small French town of Nemours, on a bright Sunday in September 1829, a family of heirs stands frozen in the square.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
The heirs panic when the doctor goes to Mass
The story opens on the bridge at Nemours, where the postmaster Minoret-Levrault waits for the coach that carries his son Désiré. He is a huge, wealthy postmaster whose dullness contrasts with the cunning of the relatives gathered around him. His cousin Madame Massin runs up with news. Their uncle, Doctor Minoret, is walking into church with the young girl Ursula.
The square fills with relatives, all staring at the church door. Goupil, a clever, bitter clerk with a crooked nose, enjoys their fear. He tells them a rich uncle must be watched like a pretty woman, or he is lost. They have never earned the doctor's friendship. They have only waited. Zelie, the fierce woman who runs the post house, storms into the church and comes out yellow with anger.
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- 15-minute summary
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Details
- First published
- 1841
- Language
- English
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Cite this edition
Balzac, Honoré de. Ursula. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/ursula.
Balzac, H. de. (2026). Ursula. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ursula (Original work published 1841)
Balzac, Honoré de. Ursula. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ursula.
@book{balzac2026ursula,
author = {Balzac, Honoré de},
title = {Ursula},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/ursula},
note = {First published 1841}
}
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What is Ursula by Balzac about?
It tells of an orphan girl in the small town of Nemours, her old godfather Doctor Minoret, and the greedy relatives who fear losing his fortune. A love story with Savinien runs through it.
Who is Goupil in Ursula?
Goupil is the ugly, clever head clerk of the notary Dionis. He wants a practice of his own and uses his wit and sharp tongue to make mischief for gain in Nemours.
Why do the heirs fear Ursula?
Doctor Minoret is rich and old, and Ursula is his goddaughter and companion. His relatives think she and the priest are leading him to leave his money to them instead of the family.
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
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