A Daughter of Eve

Two sisters, raised under the same rigid, pious mother, grow into women who make very different bargains with Parisian society. Marie-Angelique, married young to a steady older count, finds her sheltered life dull and lets herself be drawn toward Raoul Nathan, a flashy journalist and writer whose finances are as shaky as his principles. Her infatuation carries her to the edge of ruin before her husband quietly intervenes. Part of Balzac’s vast Comedie humaine, this short novel studies how innocence, boredom, and bad guidance can combine to endanger a respectable marriage. It is a sharp portrait of literary Paris and the debts, both moral and financial, that lie beneath its glamour. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available to read.