French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
(1799–1850) and included in the ''Scènes de la vie parisienne'' section of his
novel sequence
A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their publ ...
The novel is set around the year 1820. Auguste de Maulincour, a young
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
officer, walking in a
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
ian district of ill repute, sees from afar a young married woman, Clemence, with whom he is secretly in love. He sees her enter a house of ill repute. The young married woman is widely recognized in Parisian society as a paragon of marital virtue—what is her secret? Auguste decides to spy on the woman to find out. He finds her in the company of a man named Ferragus. In the days that follow, Auguste uncovers the secrets of powerful and mysterious people and escapes several assassination attempts. Subsequently, Auguste is killed, but before he dies, he reveals Clemence's secret to her husband, Jules Desmarets, a very rich stockbroker. Ferragus is none other than Clemence's father.
It is revealed that Ferragus used to be a rich, handsome boy, a member of the Order of Devorants, who was imprisoned in 1806. He had escaped imprisonment and lived in Paris under various names and disguises. In 1815, Ferragus became involved in several sordid businesses.
The novel has a tragic theme, with the death of both Auguste and Clemence, as well as the despair of Jules and the physical decrepitude of Ferragus.
Film versions
** '' Ferragus'', a film version (1910) of Balzac's novel by
** '' Ferragus'', a film version (1920) of Balzac's novel by
Giovanni Enrico Vidali Giovanni may refer to:
* Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname
* Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data
* ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
** '' Ferragus'', a film version (1923) of Balzac's novel by
Gaston Ravel
Gaston Ravel (; 1878–1958) was a French screenwriter and film director
A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and ...
** '' Die Dreizehn'' (''The Thirteen''), a film version (1918) of Balzac's novel by
Alfred Halm
Alfred Halm (born Alfred Hahn; 9 December 1861 – 5 February 1951) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director. He was the father of the actor Harry Halm, who being a Jew after the Nazis seized power in 1933, could not take part in further fil ...