Parisians in the Country

Balzac gathered two provincial tales under this title, both turning on the collision between Parisian slickness and small-town life. In The Illustrious Gaudissart, a boastful commercial traveler sweeps into Touraine certain he can sell anything, only to be quietly made a fool of by a shrewd local. The Muse of the Department follows Dinah de la Baudraye, an intelligent, restless woman married to a dull provincial nobleman, who mistakes a visiting Parisian journalist for the grand passion her stifled life has been missing. Together the two stories weigh ambition and self-deception against the narrow horizons of the country town, with Balzac’s usual sharp eye for money and vanity. Free to read as a PDF and EPUB edition.