[La Comédie Humaine 39] • Histoire De La Grandeur Et De La Décadence De César Birotteau

Honore de Balzac lived most of his life one step from his creditors; his house

in Paris even had a special exit for avoiding them. No one knew more about

money problems than Balzac, & this is his subject in _Rise and Fall of Cesar

Birotteau_ \--one of Balzac's greatest novels.

It's the story of Cesar Birotteau, an honest perfumer who's lured into

overextending himself. This luring is the work of the unsavory du Tillet, an

employee Birotteau fired for embezzlement. The Embezzler works in secret to

take revenge. Take it he does: Birotteau falls hard. But all is not lost--not

yet. Anselme Popinot, a brilliant young marketer in love with Birotteau's

daughter, works to help Birotteau recover. Perhaps together they can recover

Birotteau's honor. Perhaps.