Project Gutenberg's The Jealousies of a Country Town, by Honore de Balzac

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Title: The Jealousies of a Country Town

Author: Honore de Balzac

Release Date: July 19, 2004 [EBook #7950]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Produced by Dagny; and John Bickers

Note: This eBook contains two existing Project Gutenberg eBooks,
An Old Maid (EBook #1352), Translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley,
and The Collection of Antiquities (EBook #1405) Translated By Ellen
Marriage; these are combined into their original collected form
and includes an introduction by George Saintsbury.

THE JEALOUSIES OF A COUNTRY TOWN

BY

HONORE DE BALZAC

INTRODUCTION

The two stories of /Les Rivalites/ are more closely connected than it
was always Balzac's habit to connect the tales which he united under a
common heading. Not only are both devoted to the society of Alencon--a
town and neighborhood to which he had evidently strong, though it is
not clearly known what, attractions--not only is the Chevalier de
Valois a notable figure in each; but the community, imparted by the
elaborate study of the old /noblesse/ in each case, is even greater
than either of these ties could give. Indeed, if instead of /Les
Rivalites/ the author had chosen some label indicating the study of
the /noblesse qui s'en va/, it might almost have been preferable. He
did not, however; and though in a man who so constantly changed his
titles and his arrangements the actual ones are not excessively
authoritative, they have authority.

/La Vieille Fille/, despite a certain tone of levity--which, to do
Balzac justice, is not common with him, and which is rather hard upon
the poor heroine--is one of the best and liveliest things he ever did.
The opening picture of the Chevalier, though, like other things of its
author's, especially in his overtures, liable to the charge of being
elaborated a little too much, is one of the very best things of its
kind, and is a sort o