Honore de Balzac - famous French novelist, was born on May 20, 1799 in Tours, died on August 18, 1850 in Paris. For five years he was sent to the primary school in Tours, and at the 7th he entered the Jesuit College of Vendôme, where he stayed for 7 years. In 1814 Balzac moved with his parents to Paris, where he completed his education - first in private boarding houses, and then in Sorbonne, where he listened with enthusiasm to lectures Guizot, Cousin, Willeman. At the same time, he was studying law to please his father, who wanted to make him a notary.

Honore de Balzac. Daguerreotype 1842

Balzac's first literary experience was a tragedy in the verses of Cromwell, which cost him a lot of work, but turned out to be useless. After this first setback, he abandoned tragedy and embarked on a novel. Motivated by material needs, he began to write very bad novels one after another, which he sold for several hundred francs to various publishers. Such work, because of a piece of bread, was extremely burdensome for him. The desire to get out of poverty as soon as possible drew him into several commercial enterprises, which ended in complete ruin for him. He had to liquidate the affairs, taking over 50,000 francs in debt (1828). Subsequently, thanks to new loans to pay interest and other monetary losses, the amount of his debts increased with various fluctuations, and he languished under their burden all his life; only shortly before his death did he finally manage to get rid of debts. In the early 1820s, Balzac met and became close friends with Madame de Berny. This woman was the kind genius of his youth in the most difficult years of struggle, hardship and uncertainty. By his own admission, she had a tremendous influence on both his character and the development of his talent.

Balzac's first novel, which had a resounding success and propelled him out of the midst of other aspiring writers, was The Physiology of Marriage (1829). Since then, his fame has been growing continuously. His fertility and tireless energy are truly amazing. In the same year he published 4 more novels, the next - 11 ("A Thirty-Year-Old Woman"; "Gobsek", "Shagreen Skin", etc.); in 1831 - 8, including the "Village Doctor". Now he works even more than before, with extraordinary care he finished his works, reworking what he had written several times.

Geniuses and villains. Honore de Balzac

Balzac was more than once seduced by the role of a politician. In his political views, he was strict legitimist... In 1832 he put forward his candidacy for deputy in Angoulême, and on this occasion expressed the following program in one private letter: “The destruction of all nobility, with the exception of the House of Peers; separation of the clergy from Rome; natural borders of France; complete equality of the middle class; recognition of true superiority; cost savings; increasing income through better distribution of taxes; education for all ”.

Having failed in the elections, he took up literature with renewed zeal. 1832 11 new novels were published, among others: "Louis Lambert" "The Thrown Woman", "Colonel Chabert". At the beginning of 1833 Balzac entered into correspondence with the Countess of Hanska. From this correspondence a novel arose that lasted 17 years and ended in marriage a few months before the death of the novelist. The monument to this novel is a voluminous volume of letters from Balzac to Madame Hanska, later published under the title Letters to a Stranger. During these 17 years, Balzac continued to work tirelessly, and in addition to novels, he wrote various articles in magazines. In 1835 he began to publish the Paris Chronicle magazine himself; this edition lasted over a year and resulted in a net deficit of 50,000 francs.

From 1833 to 1838 inclusive, Balzac published 26 novellas and novels, among them Eugene Grande, Father Goriot, Seraphita, Lily of the Valley, Lost Illusions, Caesar Biroto. In 1838 he left Paris again for several months, this time for a commercial purpose. He dreams of a brilliant enterprise that can immediately enrich him; he goes to Sardinia, where he is going to exploit the silver mines, known even during the Roman rule. This venture ends in failure, as a more dexterous businessman took advantage of his idea and interrupted his path.

Until 1843 Balzac lived almost without a break in Paris, or on his estate Les Jardies, near Paris, which he bought in 1839 and turned for him a new source of fixed expenses. In August 1843 Balzac went to St. Petersburg for 2 months, where Mrs. Ganskaya was at that time (her husband owned vast estates in Ukraine). In 1845 and 1846, he traveled twice to Italy, where she spent the winter with her daughter. Urgent work and various urgent obligations forced him to return to Paris and all his efforts were aimed at finally paying off debts and arranging his affairs, without which he could not fulfill his cherished dream of his whole life - to marry his beloved woman. To a certain extent, he succeeded. Balzac spent the winter of 1847 - 1848 in Russia, at the estate of the Countess of Ganskaya near Berdichev, but a few days before the February Revolution, financial affairs called him to Paris. However, he remained completely alien to the political movement and in the fall of 1848 he went to Russia again.

Between 1849 and 1847, 28 new novels by Balzac appeared in print (Ursula Miruet, The Country Priest, Poor Relatives, Cousin Pons, etc.). Beginning in 1848 he worked very little and published almost nothing new. The second trip to Russia turned out to be fatal for him. His body was exhausted by “excessive work; this was joined by a cold that fell on the heart and lungs and turned into a long lingering illness. The harsh climate also had a detrimental effect on him and hindered his recovery. This condition, with temporary improvements, lasted until the spring of 1850. On March 14, in Berdichev, the marriage of the Countess of Hanska with Balzac took place at last. In April, the couple left Russia and went to Paris, where they settled in a small hotel bought by Balzac several years earlier and decorated with artistic luxury. However, the novelist's health deteriorated and finally, on August 18, 1850, after a severe 34-hour agony, he died.

The importance of Balzac in literature is very great: he expanded the scope of the novel and, being one of the main founders realistic and naturalistic currents, showed him new paths along which in many respects he walked until the beginning of the 20th century. His main view is purely naturalistic: he looks at every phenomenon as the result and interaction of known conditions, a known environment. According to this, Balzac's novels are not only an image of individual characters, but also a picture of the entire modern society with the main forces that govern it: the general pursuit of the blessings of life, the thirst for profit, honor, position in the world, with all the various struggles of large and small passions. At the same time, he reveals to the reader the entire behind-the-scenes side of this movement in the smallest details, in his everyday life, which gives his books the character of a vital reality. When describing the characters, he highlights some one main, prevailing feature. According to Fai's definition, for Balzac, every person is nothing more than "some kind of passion, which is served by reason and organs and which is opposed by circumstances." Thanks to this, his heroes receive extraordinary relief and brightness, and many of them have become household names, like the heroes of Moliere: for example, Grande became synonymous with avarice, Goriot - paternal love, etc. Women occupy a large place in his novels. For all his merciless realism, he always puts a woman on a pedestal, she always stands above her surroundings, and is a victim of the egoism of a man. His favorite type is a woman between 30 and 40 years old (“Balzac's age”).

The complete works of Balzac were published by him in 1842 under the general title " Human comedy", With a preface, where he defines his task as follows:" to give a history and at the same time a criticism of society, a study of its ailments and consideration of its beginnings. " One of the first translators of Balzac into Russian was the great Dostoevsky (his translation of Eugenia Grande, made before the hard labor).

(For essays on other French writers, see the "More on the subject" section below the text of the article.)

One of the greatest prose writers of the 19th century is O. de Balzac. The biography of this writer is in no way inferior to the turbulent adventures of the heroes he created. Until now, the world is interested in his personal life.

Bitter childhood

The founder of realism was born on May 20, 1799, in the city of Tours, which is located in the center of France. The prose writer came from a simple but adventurous family. Father, a local lawyer, Bernard François Balsa bought and resold the lands of the ruined nobles. This business brought him profit. This was the reason that he changed his last name and bragged about his relationship with the popular writer Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac, to whom he had nothing to do.

Subsequently, he acquired the noble prefix "de". Bernard married a girl, Anne-Charlotte-Laure Salambier, who was 30 years his junior. Mother Honoré comes from an aristocratic family. The woman was freedom-loving and did not hide her romances. From connections on the side appeared the brother of the writer, who was Anna's favorite. And the future writer was given to the nurse. After that he lived in a boarding house.

In a house where everyone but the family was put in the first place, it was not easy for the boy. Honore de Balzac received little attention as a child. Biography is briefly described in some of his works. The problems that he experienced when he was young were later present in his work.

Failed lawyer

Apparently, the genius inherited the main traits of his parents, since later they were clearly expressed in his character. At the request of the father and mother, the son was sent to the Vendome College, where he studied law. The institution was distinguished by harsh discipline, which the boy constantly thwarted. For this he earned a reputation as a slacker and a robber. There, the child discovered the world of the book. At the age of 12, he first tried himself in the role of a writer. Then all classmates made fun of his works.

Due to constant stress and lack of attention, the child became ill. His parents took him home. The guy was sick for several years. Many doctors did not give guarantees that the child would live. Nevertheless, he scrambled out.

The young man continued to study the case of a lawyer in Paris, where his parents moved. He studied at the law school from 1816 to 1819. At the same time he works as a notary. But only the world of literature really attracted him. Balzac was reaching out to him. The biography could have turned out differently, but the parents decided to support their son's hobby and give him a chance.

The first love

The father promised to support Honoré for two years. During this time, the young man had to prove that he could work in the chosen direction. During this time, the future talent worked actively, but none of his works was taken seriously. The first tragedy, Cromwell, was condemned mercilessly. In general, until 1823 he wrote about 20 volumes. Later, the writer himself called his early works a complete mistake.

From time to time, the young man left Paris for the province where his parents had moved. There he met Laura de Bernie. His biography is closely intertwined with this woman. Balzac Honore, who received a minimum of maternal affection, found warmth and tenderness in the arms of Madame (20 years older than him). Unhappy in family life, with six children in her arms, she became his love and support.

When the time came to report to his relatives for the two years that they financed his hobby, Balzac had nothing to provide. All attempts to break into the world of speech have failed. Therefore, the family refused him money.

Entrepreneur's vein

Since childhood, the master of the word dreamed of becoming indecently rich. While literature did not work out, the prose writer tried to make money. First, he issues one-volume editions of the classics. Also organized by the publishing house. Then he goes to Sardinia to find the silver of the ancient Romans in the mines. Another plan that did not justify itself is the cultivation of pineapples near Paris. Balzac's biography is full of complex and fantastic business schemes. All his plans can be briefly described in one word - a fiasco.

From failures, the already large debts have grown even more. His mother saved him from prison for promissory notes and partially repaid the loans.

For a long period of his life, the genius was plagued by poverty. So, one night a thief climbed into his simple apartment. He groped for something that could be stolen. The owner, who was in the room at that time, was not taken aback and said: "You are in vain looking for something in the dark that I can't see even in the light."

Way to success

Submission was not one of the virtues that Honore de Balzac had. The biography of the writer would not have caused so many emotions if it were not for his unshakable faith in his destiny. The master continued to work, no matter what.

In 1829, the prose writer took up the pen again. He made a tight schedule for himself. I went to bed at 6 pm, woke up at midnight. I wrote all the time. Dozens of pages came out from under his hand. He supported his strength with numerous cups of strong coffee.

The efforts were crowned with success. The historical novel "Shuana" brought him fame. The world did not yet know who Balzac was. The author's biography notes that until now he has used various pseudonyms.

The actions in this book take place during the French Revolution. Here the talented author skillfully described the struggle of the Republican troops with the Shuans.

The foundation of the main work

On the wings of success, the master decided in 1831 to create a series of stories. This should have been a description of the then morality. The title is "The Human Comedy". Work began with scenes from the life of Paris in the 18th-19th centuries.

Many doors were opened by the name Honore de Balzac. The biography of a man, after lightning popularity, acquired new colors. In the most fashionable salons he was received as a distinguished guest. There, the author met many of the heroes of his future works, which were included in the "Human Comedy". The purpose of the work was to combine all of his written works in one cycle. He took all previously published novels and partially revised them. The heroes of different books have acquired family, friendship and other ties among themselves. The epic was supposed to consist of 143 novels. But the Frenchman failed to complete the plan.

Comedy theory

"The consummate novelist" - this is what Balzac received from the critics. The biography of the writer is forever associated with the "Human Comedy". It consists of three parts. The first and the widest, which included previous works - "Studies of Morals". Here the audience meets the curmudgeon Gobsek, Goriot's unselfish father, the French officer Chabert. The second section is "Philosophical". It helps the reader to reason about the meaning of life. This includes the novel "Shagreen Skin". The third part is "Analytical studies". The books in this passage stand out for their excessive reflections, and sometimes put the plot in the background.

Balzac's biography is full of curious situations. Creativity was profitable, but did not cover all expenses and past debts. There is a story that the author went to his editor weekly to ask for an advance against future royalties. The boss was stingy, so he rarely gave out money. Once the writer, as always, came for payment, but the secretary said that today the owner does not accept. To which Balzac replied that he didn’t care, the main thing was that the leader gave money.

Women of Balzac age

Honore, unattractive in appearance, nevertheless won over many ladies. They were amazed at the fuse and passion with which the prose writer spoke. Therefore, all his free time from writing, the man spent with his numerous mistresses. Many noble ladies sought his attention, but often in vain. Balzac loved women of "elegant" age. The biography of the writer is full of romantic adventures. Their heroines were ladies who were well over 30. He described such persons in his works.

The most popular was the character of the novel "The Thirty-Year-Old Woman". The main figure is Julie's girlfriend. Through this image, the author clearly conveys the psychology of the fair sex. It was because of this work that the expression "woman of Balzac's age" was born, that is, a lady from 30 to 40 years old.

A dream come true

Love plays a big role in a person's life. The Polish Countess Evelina Hanska became the greatest passion Honore de Balzac ever felt. The biography briefly describes their acquaintance. The woman, like hundreds of other fans, sent the writer a confession. The man answered. The correspondence began. For a long time they met in secret.

Evelina refused to leave her husband and marry a prose writer. The relationship lasted for 17 years. She became free when she was widowed. Then the couple got married. This happened in May 1850, in the Ukrainian city of Berdichev. But Balzac did not have time to enjoy married life. He was seriously ill for a long time and died of the same year on August 18, in Paris.

The master hewn out each of his heroes. He was not afraid to make their life not only vivid, but also realistic. That is why the characters of Balzac are still interesting to the reader.

The country: France
Was born: May 20, 1799
Died: 18 August 1850

Honore de Balzac(fr. Honoré de Balzac) - French writer, one of the founders of realism in European literature.

Balzac's largest work is a series of novels and stories "The Human Comedy", which paints a picture of the life of the contemporary writer of French society. Balzac's work was very popular in Europe and during his lifetime earned him a reputation as one of the greatest prose writers of the 19th century. Balzac's works influenced the work of such major writers as Charles Dickens, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Emil Zola, William Faulkner and others.

Honore de Balzac was born in Tours into the family of a Languedoc peasant Bernard François Balsa (Balssa) (06.22.1746-19.06.1829). Balzac's father became rich buying and selling confiscated noble lands during the revolution, and later became an assistant to the mayor of the city of Tours. Has nothing to do with the French writer Jean-Louis Gueuze de Balzac (1597-1654). Father Honoré changed his name and became Balzac. Mother Anne-Charlotte-Laura Salambier (1778-1853) was significantly younger than her husband and even outlived her son. She came from the family of a Parisian cloth merchant.

The father was preparing his son for advocacy. In 1807-1813, Balzac studied at the Vendome College, in 1816-1819 - at the Paris School of Law, at the same time he worked as a scribe with a notary; however, he gave up a legal career and devoted himself to literature. Parents did little to do with their son. In the Vendome College, he was placed against his will. Meetings with relatives there were prohibited all year round, except for the Christmas holidays. During the first years of his studies, he had to be in the punishment cell many times. In the fourth grade, Honore began to come to terms with school life, but he did not stop making fun of the teachers ... At the age of 14, he fell ill, and his parents took him home at the request of the college administration. For five years Balzac was seriously ill, it was believed that there was no hope of recovery, but soon after the family moved to Paris in 1816, he recovered.

The director of the school Marechal-Duplessis wrote in his memoirs about Balzac: "Since the fourth grade, his desk was always full of scriptures ...". Honore was fond of reading from an early age, he was especially attracted by the works of Rousseau, Montesquieu, Holbach, Helvetius and other French enlighteners. He also tried to write poetry and plays, but his children's manuscripts have not survived. His work "A Treatise on the Will" was taken away by the teacher and burned before his eyes. Later, the writer will describe his childhood years in an educational institution in the novels "Louis Lambert", "Lily in the Valley" and others.

After 1823 he published several novels under various pseudonyms in the spirit of "fierce romanticism." Balzac strove to follow the literary fashion, and later he himself called these literary experiments "sheer literary swinishness" and preferred not to remember them. In 1825-1828 he tried to get involved in publishing, but failed.

In 1829, the first book signed with the name "Balzac" was published - the historical novel "Chouans" (Les Chouans). Balzac's formation as a writer was influenced by the historical novels of Walter Scott. Subsequent works of Balzac: "Scenes of Private Life" (Scènes de la vie privée, 1830), the novel "Elixir of Longevity" (L "Élixir de longue vie, 1830-1831, a variation on themes from the legend of Don Juan); the story" Gobsec "( Gobseck, 1830) attracted the attention of readers and critics.In 1831, Balzac publishes his philosophical novel "Shagreen Skin" (La Peau de chagrin) and begins the novel "The Thirty-Year-Old Woman" (French) (La femme de trente ans). stories "(Contes drolatiques, 1832-1837) - an ironic stylization after the novelism of the Renaissance. Swedenborg and Cl. De Saint-Martin.

His hopes of getting rich had not yet materialized (debt gravitates - the result of his failed business ventures) when fame began to come to him. Meanwhile, he continued to work hard, working at his desk for 15-16 hours a day, and annually publishing from 3 to 6 books.

In the works created during the first five or six years of his literary activity, the most diverse areas of contemporary life in France are depicted: the countryside, the province, Paris; various social groups - merchants, aristocracy, clergy; various social institutions - family, state, army.

In 1845, the writer was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor.

Honoré de Balzac died on August 18, 1850, at the age of 52. The cause of death is gangrene, which developed after he injured his leg on the corner of the bed. However, the fatal illness was only a complication of a painful malaise that lasted for several years, associated with the destruction of blood vessels, presumably arteritis.

Balzac was buried in Paris, at the Pere Lachaise cemetery. "All the writers of France came out to bury him." From the chapel, where they said goodbye to him, to the church where he was buried, Alexander Dumas and Victor Hugo were among the people carrying the coffin.

Balzac and Evelina Ganskaya

In 1832, Balzac met Evelina Ganskaya in absentia, who entered into a correspondence with the writer without revealing her name. Balzac met with Evelina in Neuchâtel, where she arrived with her husband, the owner of vast estates in Ukraine, Wenceslas Hansky. In 1842, Wenceslas Hansky died, but his widow, despite a long-term romance with Balzac, did not marry him, since she wanted to pass on the inheritance of her husband to her only daughter (by marrying a foreigner, Hanskaia would have lost her fortune). In 1847-1850 Balzac stayed at the Ganskaya Verkhovnya estate (in the village of the same name, Ruzhinsky district, Zhytomyr region, Ukraine). Balzac married Evelina Ganskaya on March 2, 1850 in the city of Berdichev, in the Church of St. Barbara, after the wedding, the couple left for Paris. Immediately upon arriving home, the writer fell ill, and Evelina looked after her husband until his last days.

In the unfinished "Letter about Kiev" and private letters, Balzac left references to his stay in the Ukrainian townships of Brody, Radzivilov, Dubno, Vishnevets and others. He visited Kiev in 1847, 1848 and 1850.

The main dates of life and work

1799, May 20. In the city of Tours, the son of Honore was born to Bernard François and Anne Charlotte Laura Balzac. Soon, his parents give him up to be raised by a nurse in the village of Saint Cyr sur Loire, where he remains for four years.

1807, June 22. Balzac is assigned to the Vendome College of Monks of the Oratorian Order.

1811. Balzac's first literary experiments.

1813, April 22. Parents take Balzac, who has suffered a severe nervous illness, home from college.

The end of the year. Balzac's family moves from Tours to Paris. Honore is given to the Lepitre boarding house.

July. Second restoration of the Bourbons (1815-1830).

Autumn. Balzac goes to the College of Hansa and Beselen.

1817. Balzac works as a scribe in the office of the lawyer Guyonne de Merville, attends lectures on literature at the Sorbonne.

1819, April 10. Balzac graduates from the School of Rights and decides to become a writer. His father, having retired, leaves with his family in Villeparisis. Balzac is left alone in Paris. His parents give him a two-year "probationary period" to test his literary talent.

1820, April. Completed the first work of Balzac - a tragedy in verse "Cromwell".

Autumn. Balzac's acquaintance with the literary businessman L "Egreville, the beginning of work on" black "novels.

December. Moving from Paris to Villeparisis.

1822. The first novels of Balzac, signed with pseudonyms - Lord R "Un and Horace de Saint-Aubin, are published.

November December. Moving to Paris. Acquaintance with Henri Monier, later a famous cartoonist. Getting started in newspapers.

1824. First draft of The Physiology of Marriage. Work on tabloid novels, which are published one after another.

1825. Publishing activity. Issue of one-volume books by Moliere and La Fontaine. Acquaintance with the writer Henri Latush.

1826. Entrepreneurial activity. Purchase of a printing house.

1827. Purchase of foundry. Commercial failures. Bankruptcy.

May. Return to literary activity.

September October. Drive to Brittany to explore the scene of the Chuan novel.

1829, March. The publication of the first novel, signed with the name of Balzac - "The Last Chuan, or Brittany in 1799" (later received the name "Chuan, or Brittany in 1799").

December. The appearance of the book "Physiology of marriage". The beginning of literary glory. Visits to salons, numerous literary acquaintances, collaboration in newspapers and magazines "Moda", "Voler" and others.

May June. Essays in newspapers and magazines.

August 9. Establishment of the July monarchy, accession to the throne of King Louis Philippe, protege of the financial oligarchy, usurers and bankers.

September. Balzac's "Letters about Paris" is published in the magazine "Voleur".

November December. Satirical sketches of Balzac in the magazine "Caricature". Balzac's acquaintance with Stendhal. Balzac joins broad opposition against the July regime.

1831, January - June. Publication of satirical essays in Parisian magazines and newspapers.

August. The novel "Shagreen Skin" was published.

September. Publication of the collection "Philosophical Novels and Tales" (including "Shagreen Skin", "Unknown Masterpiece", "Elixir of Longevity", etc.).

October. Balzac is visiting Sachet (Touraine) at the Margonne, working on the first ten "Mischievous Tales".

November 21 - December 3. The uprising of the weavers in Lyon (reflected in a number of works by Balzac). The appearance of the first translations of Balzac in Russia.

February. Publication in the magazine "Artist" of the short story "Colonel Chabert".

May. The second edition of "Scenes of Private Life" in 4 volumes (new stories and short stories are included: "The Priest of Tours", "A Thirty-Year-Old Woman", etc.).

June 5-6. Republican uprising in Paris against the regime of the July monarchy. Barricade battles in the Saint-Antoine suburb; heroic resistance of the Republicans on the rue Saint-Merry.

August - October. Balzac's journey to Aix with the Duchess de Castries.

October. Publication of the collection "New Philosophical Stories" ("Maitre Cornelius", "Red Hotel", "Louis Lambert", etc.).

December. Publication in Russia of the novel "Shagreen Skin" and the collection "Scenes of Private Life".

1833, January - February. Exchange of letters with Ganskaya, the beginning of correspondence, which then continued throughout his life.

April May. Balzac at Angoulême visiting Carro.

June. The idea of ​​combining works in the series "Studies on the customs of the XIX century."

July. The second dozen "Mischievous stories".

August. The novel "The Village Doctor" is published.

December. The beginning of the publication of the series "Studies on the customs of the XIX century" - the novel "Eugene Grande", the story "The Illustrious Godissard" and others.

August 4th. In a letter to Hanska, Balzac admits his disappointment with the Legitimist party.

October 26th. A sketch of a future series of novels, later named by Balzac "The Human Comedy".

December. The novel "Father Goriot" is published in the "Revue de Paris"; a separate edition comes out in March 1835.

November. New volumes of "Studies on the customs of the XIX century" ("Marriage contract", "Golden-eyed girl", etc.).

1836, January - April. Work in the newspaper "Cronique de Paris", the shares of which were bought by Balzac. Publication of the short stories "The Lunch of the Atheist", "The Case of Custody", "Facino Canet".

End of April. Five days in prison for refusing to serve in the National Guard.

June. The novel "Lily in the Valley" is published as a separate edition. July. Collapse of the newspaper "Cronique de Paris".

End of July. Death of Madame de Bernie.

August. Trip to Italy.

End of February - beginning of May. Travel to Italy (Milan, Venice, Genoa, Florence).

May. Balzac is hiding from creditors in the house of the Marquise Guidoboni-Visconti.

October. Escape from creditors to Sevres. Purchase of a piece of land for the construction of the "Jardi" estate.

December. The release of the third dozen "Mischievous Tales" and the novel "The Story of the Greatness and Fall of Caesar Biroto".

March. Departure to Corsica, and then to the island of Sardinia to obtain a concession for the development of silver mines. The concession was obtained by another applicant.

June July. Start of construction of a house in Jardi.

October. Collection of short stories and novellas in 2 volumes ("The Banking House of Nucingen", "Outstanding Woman", "Torpil", etc.).

1839, June. The second part of Lost Illusions, A Provincial Celebrity in Paris, is published. The persecution of Balzac by the bourgeois press.

December. Balzac withdraws his candidacy for the Academy, having learned that V. Hugo should run at the same time.

June July August. Publication of the magazine "Revue Parisienne"; three issues were published, in which Balzac's story “Z. Markas ”, his numerous articles and reviews.

1841, March 3. Balzac's brochure “Memorandum to Messrs. Deputies on Copyright”.

June 1st. An agreement was concluded for the publication of The Human Comedy (from 1842 to 1846, 16 volumes were published, in 1848 - the 17th, additional volume).

1842, July. The last issue of the first volume of "The Human Comedy" is published with a preface by Balzac explaining his concept and principles of creativity.

October November. The newspaper "Press" publishes the novel "The Life of a Bachelor".

July. Travel to St. Petersburg.

November December. Return to Paris. Disease.

1844, September - November. Work on the novel "The Peasants". The first part of the novel "The Glory and Poverty of the Courtesans" is published.

October November. Drive from Ghana to Lyon and Naples.

April May. Travel to Italy.

September 28. Purchase of a house in Paris on rue Fortunet (after the death of Balzac, the street was named after him).

December 3rd. The Constitujonnel newspaper has finished publishing the novel Cousin Betta, the first episode of Poor Relatives.

May 10. The Constitujonnel newspaper has finished publishing the novel Cousin Pons, the second episode of Poor Relatives.

September. Departure to Ukraine, to the Ganskaya Verkhovna estate, located not far from Berdichev.

November. Visiting Kiev.

December. Work on the play "Stepmother".

February 22-25. Revolution in France, proclamation of a bourgeois republic. Formation of a provisional government headed by the poet Lamartine.

April 19. Balzac's letter to the newspaper Constitujonnel, defending the principles of a "strong republican government." Balzac's consent to run for the National Assembly.

May 15. Speech by left-wing Republicans led by Blanqui and Barbes. An attempt at a revolutionary seizure of power in Paris, which ended with the arrest of the leaders and massive repressions.

May 25. Premiere of the play "Stepmother" at the "Historical Theater".

June 23-26. The uprising of the Parisian proletariat against the February bourgeois republic. Barricades. Street fighting. The bloody suppression of the uprising by General Cavaignac, who received dictatorial powers from the government.

July. The state of siege in Paris. Terror and repression against the participants in the uprising.

1849, January 11. Balzac's candidacy was out-voted in the elections to the Academy; Noaille was preferred to him.

January 18. In the elections to the Academy, Balzac's candidacy was once again out-voted, Saint-Priest was elected instead.

April. Balzac is seriously ill in Verkhovna.

June August. Balzac is seriously ill.

August 21. Balzac's funeral at the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. Funeral speech of Victor Hugo.

A documentary about Balzac:

Feature Film Honoré de Balzac's Error (1968)

You can also read about the life and work of Emile Zola:

Bibliography

Human comedy

Studies on morals

Private scenes

Essays

Unhappy (1830)
Grocer (1830)
Idle and Worker (1830)
Madame All-God (1830)
Bois de Boulogne and Luxembourg Gardens (1830)
About landlord life (1830)
Minister (1830)
Sketch (1830)
About literary salons and words of praise (1830)
Romantic Akathists (1830)
Grisette (1831)

Honore de Balzac- French prose writer who entered the history of literature as the creator of the monumental epics "The Human Comedy", which became a kind of chronicle of the life of society in the first half of the nineteenth century. and one of the foundational works realism .

The life of O. de Balzac in dates and facts

May 25, 1799- was born in the provincial city of Tours, in the family of Bernard François Balsa, who came from a peasant family, but, thanks to his personal qualities, managed to become the manager of the city hospital and assistant to the mayor.

1807 g.- on the initiative of his mother, he was sent to the Vendome College, which was distinguished by a liberal upbringing. In 1813, due to a nervous breakdown caused by an overload in reading, he dropped out of this institution and changed colleges and boarding schools several times over the next three years.

1816-1819- studied at the Paris School of Law, at the same time attending lectures on history, philosophy and art at the Sorbonne, as well as acquiring legal practice in the office of a solicitor and a notary. Upon completion of his education, Balzac refused to study law and announced to his family his intention to devote himself to literary creativity. His father decided to give Honoré a chance to prove his ability for this activity, agreeing to support him for two years until he could earn his living by professional literary work. As a touchstone, Balzac wrote the heroic tragedy Cromwell, which, however, suffered a complete fiasco.

1822-1825- for the sake of earnings, he wrote about a dozen low-standard "Gothic" novels and published them under the pseudonyms Horace de Saint-Aubin and Lord R'Oon.

In the second half 1820s the writer, in search of earnings, repeatedly embarked on commercial adventures in the publishing field, which brought him only losses. At the same time, Balzac acted as a journalist, raising in his articles and essays the pressing issues of public life in France.

1829 g.- saw the light of the first serious novel by Balzac "Shuanas" that caught the attention of the public. This success was consolidated with the appearance of new books by the writer: "Physiology of marriage"(1829) and "Scenes of Private Life"(1830), as well as works included in the "golden fund" of world literature: "Gobsek" (1830), "Shagreen leather"(1831), "Evgenia Grande" (1833), "Father Goriot"(1835) and others. Material from the site

1841 g.- the idea of ​​the epic was finally formed "The Human Comedy", designed to unite all the novels and stories into a single whole. In 1842, Balzac outlined the concept of this grandiose project in the famous "Prefaces to The Human Comedy".

V 1835 g. Balzac became the owner of the Cronique de Paris newspaper, which, however, soon went bankrupt.

V 1847 g. the writer came to the Ukrainian village of Verkhovnya near Berdichev, to the estate of an old acquaintance, the Polish aristocrat Evelina Hanska. From autumn 1848 g. on 1850 g. he lived here permanently, from time to time making trips to Ukrainian cities. V 1850 g. in the Berdichev church, the wedding of Balzac and Ganskaya took place.

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Honore de Balzac, biography

Life and career of Honore de Balzac

Honore de Balzac was born on May 20, 1799 in Tours. His grandfather, a farmer, had the surname Balsa, but his father, having become an official, changed it to an aristocratic one - Balzac.

From 1807 to 1813 Balzac studied at the Vendome College, and it was here that his love for literature manifested itself.

Having moved with his father to Paris in 1814, he studied in private institutions. In 1816, he was a free student at the Faculty of Law, at the same time he worked as a scribe at a notary, three years later he graduated from the faculty with a bachelor's degree, but, despite the wishes of his parents, he did not become a lawyer, and devoted himself to literature.

After settling in the attic, Honore began his first unsuccessful attempt to write, it was a tragedy in the poems of Cromwell. He also wrote and published under pseudonyms various action novels and codes of secular conduct. Some of them were published under the pseudonym Horace de Saint-Obrena. He soon decided to devote himself to a genre that would help in gaining recognition - it was a novel.

His first novel "Chuana" was published in 1829, but Balzac himself considered the novel "Shagreen Skin", published in 1830, to be the most significant in his work. The following works were combined into the epic "The Human Comedy", and this epic brought the author fame. Balzac was very fond of the aristocratic lifestyle. But, despite this, his "Human Comedy" describes all the estates of the then France, and not only city life, but also the life of the provinces and villages. Honore de Balzac created a truly unique work in which he typified the entire French society contemporary to him. Balzac moved away from typical novels, he was not interested in history, he was not interested in the exploits of one person. He painted a portrait of real France, all of France, without embellishment and romance.

He never expected inspiration. He was a workaholic writer who worked 12-14 hours a day. He consumed huge amounts of coffee, which he prepared for himself. His works are not the favor of the muse, but persistent studies of human nature, the psychology of society, its life and culture. In the preface to The Human Comedy, he himself draws a parallel between the development of the animal world and the world of people, notes that the formation of the personality and the characteristics of development largely depend on the environment and upbringing.

In 1832 Honore de Balzac received a letter from Odessa from Evelina Ganskaya, who lived in Verkhovna near Kiev, they corresponded for 18 years. In March 1850 he married Evelyn in the last months of his life.

See also:

• A summary of the story of Honore de Balzac "Gobsec"
• "Gobsec", an artistic analysis of the story of Honore de Balzac
• Composition based on the novel "Gobsec" by Honore de Balzac
• "Shagreen Skin", an analysis of the novel by Honore de Balzac