Honoré de Balzac, after writing several novels,…

1832 CE

Honoré de Balzac, after writing several novels, in 1832 conceived the idea for an enormous series of books that would paint a panoramic portrait of "all aspects of society".

The moment the idea came to him, Balzac raced to his sister's apartment and proclaimed: "I am about to become a genius"!

Although he originally calls it Etudes des Mœurs (literally "Studies of manners", or "The Ways of the World") it eventually becomes known as La Comédie Humaine, and he includes in it all the fiction that he has published in his lifetime under his own name.

This is to be Balzac's life work and his greatest achievement.

As an apprentice at law in 1819, Balzac had produced his first play, Cromwell, in 1819, having convinced his prosperous middle class family to subsidize him meagerly for two years while he wrote, fueled by countless cups of coffee, in a Paris garret.

Balzac's first project was a libretto for a comic opera called Le Corsaire, based on Lord Byron's The Corsair.

Realizing he would have trouble finding a composer, however, he turned to other pursuits.

In 1820 Balzac completed the five-act verse tragedy Cromwell.

When he finished, Balzac went to Villeparisis and read the entire work to his family; they were unimpressed.

He followed this effort by starting (but never finishing) three novels: Sténie, Falthurne, and Corsino.

Readers advised him to try anything but writing.

Undaunted, Balzac turned to writing Gothic thrillers, working with several collaborators under various pen names.

Balzac had met Laure de Berny, a woman twice his age and the mother of nine children, in 1821, who braved ridicule to become the mistress of the twenty-two-year old writer.

In 1821 also, Balzac had met the enterprising Auguste Le Poitevin, who persuaded the author to write short stories, which Le Poitevin then sells to publishers.

Balzac quickly turned to longer works, and by 1826 he had written nine novels, all published under pseudonyms and often produced in collaboration with other writers.

These books were potboiler novels, designed to sell quickly and titillate audiences.

During this time Balzac wrote two pamphlets in support of primogeniture and the Society of Jesus.

The latter, regarding the Jesuits, illustrate his lifelong admiration for the Catholic Church.

In the late 1820s Balzac had dabbled in several business ventures, a penchant his sister blamed on the temptation of an unknown neighbor.

His first enterprise was in publishing which turned out cheap one-volume editions of French classics including the works of Molière.

This business failed miserably.

Balzac had better luck publishing the Memoirs of the Duchess of Abrantès, with whom he also had a love affair.

Balzac borrowed money from his family and friends, and tried to build a printing business, then a typefounder enterprise.

His inexperience and lack of capital caused his ruin in these trades.

He gave the businesses to a friend (who made them successful) but carries the debts for many years.

As of April 1828 Balzac owed fifty thousand francs to his mother.