{"product_id":"pere-goriot-9780451529596","title":"Pere Goriot","description":"\"\u003ci\u003ePère Goriot \u003c\/i\u003ecan rightly be regarded as one of the greatest of Balzac's novels,\" writes Henry Reed of this masterful study of a father who sacrifices everything for his daughters. This novel marked the true beginning of Balzac's towering project \u003ci\u003eLa Com\u003c\/i\u003eé\u003ci\u003edie Humaine\u003c\/i\u003e, his series of novels and short stories depicting \"the whole pell-mell of civilization.\" In \u003ci\u003ePère Goriot\u003c\/i\u003e, the great novelist probes the \"bourgeois tragedy\" of money and power from two different directions. While Goriot is willingly reduced to poverty to support his ambitious daughters, an impoverished young man of integrity becomes money hungry. Attracted to one of Goriot's daughters, Rastignac succumbs to the fever of social climbing. The resulting tale is a commentary on wealth and human desire that still rings true in the twenty-first century. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eTranslated and with an Afterword by Henry Reed\u003cbr\u003eand with an Introduction by Peter Brooks\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHonoré de Balzac\u003c\/b\u003e (1799-1850) worked for three years in a lawyer's office, preparing to practice law, but in 1819, he devoted himself to writing. His early stories were hackwork published under various pseudonyms. In 1829, he published \u003ci\u003eLa Dernier Chouan\u003c\/i\u003e, the first story to bear his name and his first success. Over the next twenty years, Balzac's literary output was prodigious: three or four novels a year, sometimes more. All became part of \u003ci\u003eLa Comédie Humaine\u003c\/i\u003e, a panorama of the whole of French society, some of the most important works of this series being \u003ci\u003eEugénie Grandet\u003c\/i\u003e (1833) and \u003ci\u003ePère Goriot\u003c\/i\u003e (1834). He also wrote plays and the popular \u003ci\u003eDroll Stories\u003c\/i\u003e (1833). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eHenry Reed \u003c\/b\u003e(1914-86) was a noted poet, translator, and writer of radio plays. In addition to \u003ci\u003ePère Goriot\u003c\/i\u003e, his translations include \u003ci\u003eEugénie Grandet\u003c\/i\u003e by Honoré de Balzac. His poems were published in two volumes, \u003ci\u003eA Map of Verona\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLessons of the War\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003ePeter Brooks\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of a number of books, including \u003ci\u003eReading for the Plot\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Melodramatic Imagination\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eHenry James Goes to Paris. \u003c\/i\u003eHe was a longtime professor of comparative literature and French at Yale University and University Professor at the University of Virginia.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Signet Book","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50491743273234,"sku":"9780451529596","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_98b7ff23-82d8-46c8-8b48-7c21cbfe3499.jpg?v=1758090895","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/pere-goriot-9780451529596","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}