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Cousin Bette
Hardcover
Classic FictionGeneral FictionLiterary Fiction
ISBN13: 9781025520964
Publisher: Tradd Street Press
Published: Feb 14 2026
Pages: 576
Weight: 2.15
Height: 1.25 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
Cousin Bette is a masterful exploration of revenge, jealousy, and social decay within mid-19th-century Parisian society. Written by Honore De Balzac as part of his monumental series The Human Comedy, this novel delves into the dark side of human nature through the eyes of its protagonist, Lisbeth Bette Fischer. An impoverished spinster living in the shadow of her wealthy and successful relatives, Bette harbors a deep-seated resentment that eventually boils over into a calculated plot to destroy the Hulot family.
The narrative follows Bette as she manipulates those around her, forming an alliance with the beautiful but unscrupulous Valérie Marneffe to exploit the moral and financial weaknesses of Baron Hulot. Through its vivid portrayal of ruin and bankruptcy, Cousin Bette provides a scathing critique of the French bourgeoisie and aristocracy. Balzac's keen eye for detail and his ability to construct complex, psychologically driven characters make this work a cornerstone of literary realism. It remains a powerful study of how obsession and the desire for vengeance can dismantle the foundations of family and status.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
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