Albert Savarus

In sleepy, aristocratic Besancon, a gifted outsider named Albert Savarus arrives to build a legal practice and a political future, carrying the secret of a long love affair with an Italian princess. When young Rosalie de Watteville reads the thinly veiled story he publishes about that romance, obsession takes hold of her. Determined to have him for herself, she intercepts and forges letters, quietly wrecking both his campaign and his hopes. Balzac turns a provincial drawing-room drama into a study of ambition, thwarted passion, and the damage a single jealous will can do. It is one of his sharpest shorter works, tightly plotted and unsettling in its cool cruelty. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available to read and download here.