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Noumena Press
Publisher of Classic & Contemporary Literature
The Human Comedy, Vol. I:
At the Sign of the Cat and Racket and Other Works

by Honoré de Balzac
Translated from the French by Clara Bell and R.S. Scott
with Illustrations from the Furne Edition
“The idea of The Human Comedy . . . originated in a comparison between Humanity and Animality.”


At the Sign of the Cat and Racket

A painter’s greatest masterpiece is inspired by a young girl of angelic beauty, but their resulting marriage only serves to reveal the deep divide between their true natures . . .

The Ball At Sceaux

A haughty young demoiselle, the last child to marry from an old noble family, is raised to be all too discerning in her choice of a future husband, with tragic consequences . . .

Letters of Two Brides

A lifelong correspondence between two young women illustrates their different ideas about love and marriage–one valuing romance and excitement, the other marital duty–but as they begin to live out their philosophies of love and life, one thrives and prospers as a wife and mother while the other is slowly consumed by jealousy . . .

The works in this volume are preceded by an introduction in which the author sets forth the history of the project and explains his principles of composition.

Version 1.1 (11 August 2009) 466 pages
ISBN-13: 9780976706205

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