Catherine De Medici, Classics To Go
When Balzac states that his intent is to rescue Catherine’s historical reputation, this is from those 19th century French historians who considered her to be an ineffective ruler. Judged in accordance with 19th century French Legitimist terms, Catherine’s cruelty, bloodshed and ruthless politicking are all justified in Balzac’s eyes due to her attaining her political goals. In a parallel fashion, Balzac's own political goals were to suppress and defeat any resurgence of the post-French Revolution republicanism. (goodreads)
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac, (20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is generally viewed as his magnum opus. Owing to his keen observation of detail and unfiltered representation of society, Balzac is regarded as one of the founders of realism in European literature. He is renowned for his multi-faceted characters; even his lesser characters are complex, morally ambiguous and fully human. Inanimate objects are imbued with character as well; the city of Paris, a backdrop for much of his writing, takes on many human qualities. His writing influenced many famous writers, including the novelists Émile Zola, Charles Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, and Henry James, and filmmakers François Truffaut and Jacques Rivette. Many of Balzac's works have been made into films and continue to inspire other writers.
