The widow Agathe Bridau dotes on her elder son Philippe, a swaggering Napoleonic officer who drinks, gambles and steals, and overlooks the younger Joseph, a struggling painter who quietly supports her. The family’s hopes of an inheritance lead to Issoudun, where an old bachelor uncle is ruled by his housekeeper Flore Brazier.
One of Balzac’s darkest and most energetic novels, also known as The Black Sheep. Download the free EPUB.