Who will win the prize of marrying Eugénie Grandet? Felix Grandet, having married well and become a wealthy landowner and wine-grower, is a miser who watches like a hawk the sugar lumps and the bread slices. The question of who will marry his daughter and inherit his fortune fuels endless speculation in the town of Saumur. The arrival of Eugénie's cousin sparks feelings and a resolve that puts her on a collision course with her father's control. As the years pass and she must navigate the self-interest of potential suitors, we see how habits manifest themselves in a new generation. It was while working on Eugénie Grandet that Balzac conceived his magnum opus La Comédie humaine, a huge collection of interlinked novels and stories depicting French society between 1815 and 1848. Sitting within this collection beneath the heading of 'Scenes from Provincial Life', Eugénie Grandet (1833) is a brilliantly woven, deeply affecting tale with the disease of avarice at its heart.
"This novel, written in 1833 and considered a minor masterpiece, is expertly narrated by Justin Avoth. His erudite, perfectly paced voice describes the rigid, monotonous life of a provincial French family, the Grandets. The head of the family is a miser who cares more for gold than for either his obedient wife or his pious daughter, Eug�nie. When Eug�nie's cousin, Charles, comes to reside in their household after his father's financial ruin and death, Eug�nie's life suddenly changes irrevocably. She falls in love, but many obstacles impede a happily-ever-after. This literary work is descriptive, thoughtful, and enlightening. Human nature is revealed and reviled. Patient listeners will come to understand why this is a classic. D.L.G. � AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine"
