Honoré de Balzac 
The Hidden Masterpiece [EPUB ebook] 

Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) was a French novelist and playwright, renowned as one of the founders of realism in European literature. His magnum opus, ‘La Comédie humaine’, is a series of interlinked novels and stories depicting the intricacies of French society in the post-Napoleonic era. A master of character and dialog, Balzac’s immense body of work reflects his keen observations of detail and represents an attempt to encompass the whole of society within his narratives. He wrote over ninety novels and stories, with ‘The Hidden Masterpiece’ (‘Le Chef-d’œuvre inconnu’) being one of his notable works that delves into the life of an artist and the obsession with achieving perfection in art. Balzac’s narrative techniques and complex characters influenced a plethora of writers, including Marcel Proust, Charles Dickens, and Émile Zola. His work is characterized by a dense and detailed style, focusing on the representation of reality through a network of connections between his characters across different social classes. His writing was also innovative for its inclusion of elements from different genres, such as the fantastical and the philosophical. Balzac’s contribution to literature extends beyond his own works; he was a pivotal figure in shaping the novel as a central form in modern literature and inspired future explorations into character and society.