Excerpt from The Middle Classes (Les Petits Bourgeois) The book, when in his letters Balzac spoke of it as first nearly finished and then actually 'set up, ' bore the title of Les Petits Bourgeois de Paris, but nobody seems to have seen the ms. Or the proofs. It actually appeared in the Pay: during the autumn of 1854, and was afterwards issued as a book by the publisher de Potter in eight vol umes - four bearing the present title in 1856, and the other four as Les Parvenus in 1857. The first part had twenty-seven, and the second twenty-five chapter divi sions with headings. M. De Lovenjoul does not mention whether there was any special authority for the suppres sion of these when the book was at last, a few years ago, made part of the Comedte, or whether it was done in accordance with Balzac' s usual practice. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from The Deputy for Arcis and the Middle Class, Vol. 2 The least known of Balzac's works is undoubtedly Les Petits Bourgeois, it was not published until 1854, more than three years after his death, being the' last, with the ex ception of a few minor pieces, to reach the public. It is believed that Charles Rabou - who finished Le Depute d'arcis - completed this. Much of it seems quite foreign to Balzac's style, particularly the often long drawn-out dia lognes; much of which must be that of another hand. Then the abrupt breaks, though Balzac was not by any means free from this vice, give a further tendency to this opinion. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from The Deputy for Arcis; The Middle Classes, and Indices Les Petits Bourgeois, stands on a rather different footing from the rest of Balzac's work. Both were posthumous, and both, having been left unfinished, were completed by the author's friend, Charles Rabou. Rabou is not much known nowadays as a man of letters; he must not be confused with the writer Hippolyte Babou, the friend of Baudelaire, the reputed inventor of the title Fleurs du Mal, and the author of some very acute articles in the great collection of Crepet's Poetes Francais. But he figures pretty frequently in association of one kind or another with Balzac, and would appear to have been thoroughly imbued with the scheme and spirit of the Comédie. At the same time, it'does not appear that even the indefatigable and most competent M. De Loven joul is perfectly certain where Balzac's labors end and those of Rabou begin. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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Excerpt from The Lesser Bourgeoisie The Situation and the aspect of this house, the frame of our present Scene of manners and morals, has, more over, a flavor, a perfume of the lesser bourgeoisie, which may attract or repel attention according to the taste of each reader. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.