First published in 1842, ‘The Black Sheep’ is an outstanding novel by Honoré de Balzac that tells of a remarkable battle for inheritance.
At the centre of this story are two brothers, Joseph and Philippe, who could not be more different from each other, the modest and studious Joseph is the complete opposite of the bold and physically-imposing Philippe. They become the protagonists in the fight against their uncle’s supposed will to leave his fortune to mere strangers that coveted his attention for years.
As in other novels, Balzac masterfully concocts a tale that is based on contrasts – the provincial life in Issoudun vs. the town life in Paris, the consequences of immense wealth vs. the results of poverty, the life of the upper classes vs. the destitution of the working class, while his moral spins around the fleeting nature of success, the extent of the individual ruthlessness and cunningness, and the consequences of a mother’s blind love for her child.
More than any other Balzac novel, ‘The Black Sheep’ is all about appearances often deceiving us and the fact that “a leopard never changes its spots”.
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