In the autumn of 1799, a column of republican conscripts climbing a Breton hill is ambushed by the Chouans, peasant guerrillas fighting for the king. Into this war comes Marie de Verneuil, sent by Fouché’s police to seduce and betray the young royalist leader known as the Gars, and the plan turns against her when she falls in love with him.
The first novel Balzac signed with his own name, and the starting point of La Comédie humaine. Download the free EPUB.