The Seamy Side of History

The Comedy of Human Life (La Comédie Humaine) is the collective title given to a series of linked stories by Balzac, totalling about a hundred in all, and loosely divided into groups, such as provincial, Parisian, political, military and country. Conceived in 1834, his idea was to produce a work with philosophical underpinnings which would survey all aspects of French society from the Revolution to his own time. Originally intended to comprise some 150 novels and short stories featuring around 2,000 characters, this gargantuan project was about two-thirds completed by the time of Balzac's death.

Volume XXXII includes some of the best stories from the series, concerning Christianity, seduction, swindling, corruption, love, lost treasure, politics, betrayal and regicide.