A Man of Business
Man of Business is a novel by Honoré de Balzac, first published in 1839. It is part of his series of novels known as La Comédie Humaine. The novel follows the life of the protagonist, Monsieur de la Baudraye, a wealthy Parisian businessman. He is a man of great ambition and success, but his life is thrown into turmoil when he falls in love with a young woman, Madame de la Baudraye. Despite his best efforts to win her heart, she rejects him and marries another man. Devastated, Monsieur de la Baudraye turns his attention to business, and soon becomes one of the most successful businessmen in Paris. He is respected and admired by all, but his success is marred by his inability to find true love. The novel follows Monsieur de la Baudraye as he navigates the world of business and love, and ultimately discovers the true meaning of happiness. Along the way, he learns valuable lessons about life, love, and success.
By Honoré De Balzac · First published 1844 · Genre: Realistic Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction · 7,355 words
First lines
The word "lorette" is a euphemism invented to describe the status of a personage, or a personage of a status, of which it is awkward to speak; the French Academie, in its modesty, having omitted to supply a definition out of regard for the age of its forty members. Whenever a new word comes to supply the place of an unwieldy circumlocution, its fortune is assured; the word "lorette" has passed into the language of every class of society, even where the lorette herself will never gain an entrance. It was only invented in 1840, and derived beyond a doubt from the agglomeration of such swallows' nests about the Church of Our Lady of Loretto. This information is for etymoligists only. Those gentlemen would not be so often in a quandary if mediaeval writers had only taken such pains with details of contemporary manners as we take in these days of analysis and description.
What this Textopian page supports
A Man of Business is listed on Textopian as a novel by Honoré De Balzac, dated 1844 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Novel
- Author: Honoré De Balzac
- Date: 1844 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Realistic Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, Satire
- Length: 7,355 words
- Structure: 1 section, 160 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for A Man of Business by Honoré De Balzac
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Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering A Man of Business?
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- Where does Realistic Fiction first become important in the reading?
Similar titles
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Genres
- Realistic Fiction — A Man of Business is a realistic fiction novel that follows the life of a businessman, depicting the struggles and successes of his career.
- Romance — The novel also contains a romantic subplot, as the protagonist falls in love with a woman who is not of his social class.
- Historical Fiction — The novel is set in 19th century France, making it a historical fiction novel.
- Satire — Honoré De Balzac's writing style is often satirical, making this an element of the novel as well.
Tags
French fiction · Novel · Translations into English · antonia · bills · bixiou · business · cerizet · chocardelle · claparon · continued · count