Ursule Mirouët

In the quiet town of Nemours, an orphaned girl is raised with great tenderness by her godfather, a retired doctor who has left religion behind for science. His late change of heart, prompted by experiments with mesmerism and a few uncanny visions, sets the plot in motion. When he dies, his jealous, money-minded relatives move to strip Ursule of the inheritance meant for her, and only a strange intervention from beyond the grave can right the wrong. Balzac blends a clear-eyed picture of provincial greed with his fascination for the occult, making one of the gentlest heroines in his whole human comedy the center of a tense fight over a will. Free to read as a PDF and EPUB edition.