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In 1795 Jerome-Nicolas had not known how to read or write; in 1802 he had made no progress in either art; but by allowing a handsome margin for "wear and tear" in his estimates, he managed to pay a foreman's wages. The once easy-going journeyman was a terror to his "bears" and "monkeys." Where pove…

Honoré de Balzac, often said to be the greatest of French novel-ists, was born in Tours on May 20, 1799. His father was a civil servant who had survived the Revolution and risen under Napoleon; his mother came from a middle-class Parisian family. Raised by a wet nurse until the age of four, he was …

[...] "Balzac [was] the master unequalled in the art of painting humanity as it exists in modern society," judged George Sand. "He searched and dared everything.... Childlike and great; always envious of trifles and never jealous of true glory; sincere to the point of modesty, proud to the point of…

[...] "Balzac [was] the master unequalled in the art of painting humanity as it exists in modern society," judged George Sand. "He searched and dared everything.... Childlike and great; always envious of trifles and never jealous of true glory; sincere to the point of modesty, proud to the point of…

Honoré de Balzac, often said to be the greatest of French novel-ists, was born in Tours on May 20, 1799. His father was a civil servant who had survived the Revolution and risen under Napoleon; his mother came from a middle-class Parisian family. Raised by a wet nurse until the age of four, he was …