César Birotteau has made his fortune selling hair oil and cosmetics from a shop near the Place Vendôme, and his wife wakes from a nightmare of beggary just as he plans a lavish ball and a speculation in land. Debt, a vengeful former clerk and the machinery of Parisian credit close in on a decent, vain, honest man.
Balzac’s great novel of commerce and bankruptcy, a cornerstone of La Comédie humaine and still sharp on money and pride. Download the free EPUB.