The Chouans (Esprios Classics)

Les Chouans is an 1829 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) and included in the Scènes de la vie militaire section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine. Set in the French region of Brittany the novel combines military history with a love story between the aristocratic Marie de Verneuil and the Chouan royalist Alphonse de Montauran. It takes place during the 1799 post-war uprising in Fougères. Balzac conceived the idea for the novel during a trip to Brittany arranged by a family friend in 1828. Intrigued by the people and atmosphere of the region he began collecting notes and descriptions for later use. After publishing an Avertissement for the novel he released three editions - each of them revised significantly.