{"product_id":"2026200007422-secondhand-balzac","title":"Balzac","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good                          \u003cbr\u003eJacket: Worn\/faded, no tears\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good                  \u003cbr\u003eMarkings: No markings\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA masterful work of literary biography and criticism, V.S. Pritchett's Balzac presents a vivid and authoritative portrait of one of the nineteenth century's most prolific and influential novelists, Honoré de Balzac. Pritchett chronicles the turbulent life of the French genius — his mountainous debts, his obsessive work habits, and his grand ambition to document the whole of French society through his monumental La Comédie Humaine. Written with the sharp wit and elegant prose for which Pritchett himself was celebrated, the study illuminates not only Balzac the man but also the social and historical forces that shaped his extraordinary imagination. Pritchett argues that Balzac's genius lay in his almost supernatural ability to transform raw, chaotic experience into a teeming fictional world populated by some of literature's most unforgettable characters. The result is an essential and deeply pleasurable read for anyone seeking to understand the life and legacy of a writer who essentially invented the modern novel.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48887833526491,"sku":"2026200007422-SECONDHAND","price":15.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/b1d25be3-eebb-4f50-a515-eaff9ac78bf0.png?v=1781746799","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200007422-secondhand-balzac","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}