description: Eugénie Grandet , written in 1833, is one of the earliest and most famous novels in Balzac's Comédie Humaine . Here, the Grandet household, oppressed by the exacting miserliness of Grandet himself, is jerked violently out of routine by the sudden arrival of Eugénie's cousin Charles, recentlyorphaned and penniless. Eugénie's emotional awakening, stimulated by her love for her cousin, brings her into direct conflict with her father, whose cunning and financial success are matched against her determination to rebel.Eugénie's moving story is set against the backdrop of provincial oppression, the vicissitudes of the wine trade, and the workings of the financial system in the aftermath of the French Revolution. It is both a poignant portrayal of private life and a vigorous fictional document of its age.
language: English
title: Eugénie Grandet
titlecomplete: Eugénie Grandet
characters: Cruchot des Bonfons, Madame Grandet, Félix Grandet, Charles Grandet, Nanon, Eugénie Grandet
genres: Classics, France, Roman, Novels, Romance, Historical Fiction, Literature, French Literature, Fiction, 19th Century
ratings_count: 22417
places: Saumur, France
series: Études de mœurs : Scènes de la vie de province, La Comédie Humaine
publisher: Oxford University Press