Béatrix

On the windswept Breton coast near Guerande, young Calyste du Guenic, raised in a proud but faded noble family, falls hopelessly for the worldly Marquise Beatrix de Rochefide. She has run off with a musician and trails scandal behind her, yet Calyste cannot see past his infatuation. His devotion sets him against the older, wiser Felicite des Touches, who loves him in her own guarded way, and against the pull of a sensible marriage. Balzac drew on the tangled affairs of George Sand and her circle to explore romantic illusion, vanity, and the difference between passion and worth. The result is a bittersweet portrait of first love badly misplaced. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available to read and download here.