Considered to be one of Balzac’s most important works, Pere Goriot is the story of its title character Jean-Joachim Goriot, a mysterious criminal-in-hiding named Vautrin, and a naive law student named Eugene de Rastignac. We are introduced to the characters at Maison Vauquer, a boarding house owned by the widow Madame Vauquer. Central to the theme of the book is the struggle to achieve upper-class status in society. Rastignac is eager to achieve this upper-class standing but is unfamiliar to the ways of Parisian society. Vautrin tries to convince Rastignac to pursue an unmarried woman named Victorine, a dubious suggestion which involves the disposal of her brother who blocks access to the woman’s fortune. The failings to achieve this upper-class status are exemplified by Goriot who has bankrupted himself in supporting his two well-married daughters, who despite the fact reject him. A classic and tragic story, Pere Goriot is one of the most pivotal works in Balzac’s sweeping novel sequence La Comedie Humaine , which endeavors to depict the social panoramic of the human condition. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper, follows the translation of Ellen Marriage, and includes an introduction by R. L. Sanderson.