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Ursule Mirouët (TV)
''Ursule Mirouët'', a novel, belongs to Honoré de Balzac’s series of 94 novels and short stories ''La Comédie humaine''. First published in 1841, it forms part of his ''Scènes de la vie de province''. The action of the novel takes place in Nemours, though with flashbacks to Paris. It is set in the years 1829–1837. Plot summary Ursule is the legitimate daughter of the widower Dr Denis Minoret’s deceased ''illegitimate'' brother-in-law by marriage, Joseph Mirouët; not only is she the doctor’s niece, she is also his goddaughter and ward. Fifteen years old when the novel begins, she has been brought up by the doctor. Dr Minoret, an atheist rather than an agnostic, and a devoted student of the ''Encyclopédie'', has persisted in his rationalistic atheism for most of his eighty-three years. At the beginning of the novel he is, however, converted to Christianity – emotionally by the example of Ursule’s piety, and intellectually by his experience of animal magnetism, o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honoré De Balzac
Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is generally viewed as his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. Owing to his keen observation of detail and unfiltered representation of society, Balzac is regarded as one of the founders of Literary realism, realism in European literature. He is renowned for his multi-faceted characters; even his lesser characters are complex, morally ambiguous and fully human. Inanimate objects are imbued with character as well; the city of Paris, a backdrop for much of his writing, takes on many human qualities. His writing influenced many famous writers, including the novelists Émile Zola, Charles Dickens, Marcel Proust, Gustave Flaubert, and Henry James, and filmmakers François Truffaut and Jacques Rivette. Many of Balzac's works have been made into films an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Rabouilleuse
''La Rabouilleuse'' (, ''The Black Sheep'', or ''The Two Brothers'') is an 1842 novel by Honoré de Balzac, and is one of ''La Comédie humaine#The Celibates (Les Célibataires), The Celibates'' in the series ''La Comédie humaine''. ''The Black Sheep'' is the title of the English translation by Donald Adamson published by Penguin Classics. It tells the story of the Bridau family, trying to regain their lost inheritance after a series of mishaps. Though for years an overlooked work in Balzac's canon, it has gained popularity and respect in recent years. ''The Guardian'' listed ''The Black Sheep'' 12 on its list of the 100 Greatest Novels of All Time. Plot summary The action of the novel is divided between Paris and Issoudun. Agathe Rouget, who was born in Issoudun, was sent by her father, Doctor Rouget, to be raised by her maternal relatives, the Descoings, in Paris. Doctor Rouget suspects (wrongly) that he is not her biological father. In Paris she marries a man named Bridau and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugène Scribe
Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of many of the most successful grand operas and opéras-comiques. Born to a middle-class Parisian family, Scribe was intended for a legal career, but was drawn to the theatre, and began writing plays while still in his teens. His early years as a playwright were unsuccessful, but from 1815 onwards he prospered. Writing, usually with one or more collaborators, he produced several hundred stage works. He wrote to entertain the public rather than educate it. Many of his plays were written in a formulaic manner which aimed at neatness of plot and focus on dramatic incident rather than naturalism, depth of characterisation or intellectual substance. For this he was much criticised by intellectuals, but the "well-made play" remained established in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
