Balzac is widely credited with being one of the founders of Realism. During his lifetime, he undertook a gigantic project, which he called La Comédie humaine, or The Human Comedy. It's series of novels and short stories—over 80 works, folks!—that depicted all aspects of French society. To pull that off, he often worked 14 to 16 hours a day, with little sleep and with loads and loads of coffee.

His schedule was so intense that people think it's what finally did him in.

Although his fiction represented all classes of French society, Balzac was one of the first authors to focus his work on the lives of ordinary French citizens. He tried to depict life and society as they truly were. He used detail to great effect, and he was also one of the first authors to make character and psychology one of the central concerns of his writing. It's no wonder that he influenced a huge number of important authors, from Fyodor Dostoevsky to Marcel Proust.

Cousin Bette

Considered to be one of the masterpieces of La Comédie humaine, this novel tells the story of Cousin Bette, a poor relative of the Hulots, French aristocrats who don't treat her very nicely.

So she takes revenge on them. And it's awesome.

Cousin Bette is a great example of Balzac's ability to move between and depict all spheres of French society: from the very rich to the very poor. It's also a great study in psychology and character—that Cousin Bette is one angry old lady.

Father Goriot

Another one of Balzac's masterpieces, this novel tells the story of Eugène de Rastignac, a poor but ambitious law student, and Goriot, an old man whose children take advantage of him.

Like a lot of Balzac's works, this novel also focuses on class: characters come from all spheres of French society, and they move up or down the social ladder depending on how lucky, unlucky, or—let's face it—ruthless they are. There's lots of great detail and description of French society here as well, as well as a boatload of wonderful characters.

Chew on This

Check out how Balzac writes about class in Cousin Bette.

Balzac's Father Goriot is another classic study of French society, giving it to us all in great detail.