Volume 1 of 2. Honore de Balzac was considered the greatest novelist of France and was the founder of the realistic novel. His novels sought to demonstrated the molding effect of social environment on the raw material of human personality. His novels have more than 2.000 characters from all phases of contemporary life. In this volume, the reader will find the following works: At the Sign of the Cat and Racket; Ball at Sceaux; The Purse; Madame Firmiani; Pierrette; and Vicar of Tours; A Bachelor’s Establishment; and Honorine. Illustrated.