Publisher's Synopsis
Balzac is concerned with the choice between ruthless self-gratification and asceticism, dissipation and restraint, in a novel that is powerful in its symbolism and realistic depiction of decadence.
About the Publisher
In January 1946, the Penguin Classics list was launched with E. V. Rieu's translation of The Odyssey. The series now consists of over 800 titles including the best in English, American, European, classical and non-western literature and an extensive range of philosophy, religion, art, history and politics titles.
