fills
a few pages and does not enter into much detail. Besides these, an
admirable essay on Balzac has appeared in "Main Currents of
Nineteenth-century Literature," by Mr. George Brandes; the scope of
this, however, is mainly criticism of his merits as a writer, not
description of his personality and doings.

Even in the French language, there is no trustworthy or satisfactory
Life of Balzac--a fact on which numerous critical writers make many
comments, though they apparently hesitate to throw themselves into the
breach and to undertake one. Madame Surville's charming Memoir only
professes to treat of Balzac's early life, and even within these
limits she intentionally conceals as much as she reveals. M. Edmond
Bire, in his interesting book, presents Balzac in different aspects,
as Royalist, playwriter, admirer of Napoleon, and so on; but M. Bire
gives no connected account of his life, while MM. Hanotaux and Vicaire
deal solely with Balzac's two years as printer and publisher. The
Vicomte de Spoelberch de Lovenjoul is the one man who could give a
detailed and minutely correct Life of Balzac, as he has proved by the
stores of biographical knowledge contained in his works the "Roman
d'Amour," "Autour de Honore de Balzac," "La Genese d'un Roman de
Balzac, 'Les Paysans,'" and above all, "L'Histoire des Oeuvres de
Balzac," which has become a classic. The English or American reader
would hardly be able to appreciate these fascinating books, however,
unless he were first equipped with the knowledge of Balzac which would
be provided by a concise Life.

In these circumstances, helped and encouraged by Dr. Emil Reich, whose
extremely interesting lectures I had attended with much enjoyment, and
who very kindly gave me lists of books, and assisted me with advice, I
engaged in the task of writing this book. It is not intended to add to
the mass of criticism of Balzac's novels, being merely an attempt to
portray the man as he was, and to sketch correctly a career which has
been said to be more thrilling than a large proportion of novels.

I must apologise for occasional blank spaces, for when Balzac is with
Madame Hanska, and his letters to her cease, as a general rule all our
information ceases also; and the intending biographer can only glean
from scanty allusions in the letters written afterwards, what happened
at Rome, Naples, Dresden, or any of the other towns, to which Balzac
travelled in hot haste to meet his divinity.

T