Honoré de Balzac is a major writer of the 19th century. A master of the French novel and a leading figure in rigorous writing, he is credited with a realistic, visionary style that provokes philosophical reflection. In addition to his prolific literary output, he wrote newspaper articles and edited two magazines.
He took a keen interest in the human species, and this passion for man gave rise to one of the most imposing works of fiction of all time: La Comédie humaine, a collection of over 90 works (novels, short stories, tales and essays) that paints an immense fresco of the society of the novelist's time.
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1799: Honoré de Balzac is born in Tours on May 20.
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1820 to 1825: He writes several early novels under various pseudonyms, including Lord R'Hoone and Horace de Saint-Aubin.
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1825: Balzac enters the publishing business, but the two magazines he runs go bankrupt, ruining him.
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1829: With The Chouans and The Physiology of Marriage, Balzac begins to make a name for himself as an author, and develops important contacts in the literary world.
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1831: The publication of The Magic Skin, a fantasy novel, brings Balzac fame.
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1833: He conceives the ambitious project of La Comédie humaine (which Balzac describes as a painting of society), a great cycle of novels (over 90) recounting the adventures of a series of characters linked by blood or friendship, written over several years (until 1950).
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1834: The novel Eugénie Grandet, a study of the evolution of different characters over time, is published.
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1835: The novel Old Goriot, first published in the Revue de Paris, appears.
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1842: A first edition of La Comédie humaine is published; from then on, the work is constantly enriched.
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1850: On August 18, at the age of 51, Honoré de Balzac died in Paris.