Lily of the valley

Lily of the Valley presents the social conditions and life of the period through the eyes of a sociologist, through the intense and platonic love between Félix de Vandenesse, the youngest son of an aristocratic family, and Henriette de Mortsauf, the virtuous wife of Count Mortsauf.

Félix de Vandenesse is perhaps the most autobiographical character Balzac created. Balzac tells, through Félix's perspective, his childhood deprived of love, his encounter with hatred, and his upbringing in an authoritarian environment. Félix's life changes when he meets Madame Mortsauf, a pure and pugnacious "divine being" who is both a mother and a lover to him.

Considered one of the pioneers of the realism movement, Balzac influenced writers from Dickens to Flaubert, from Proust to Henry James, and inspired thinkers. For Friedrich Engels, Balzac is a sociologist: “I have learned much more from Balzac than from historians, economists and statisticians.” A guide for the exiled writer James Baldwin: “If I had not met Balzac, my life in France would have been very different. “He is the one who taught me about this country and how its society works.”

(From the Promotional Bulletin)

Dough Type: 2nd Dough

Number of Printings: 1st Edition

First Print Year: 2018

Number of Pages: 360

Size: 12 x 20