The Duchesse de Langeais Book Two of 'The Thirteen' by Honore de Balzac Fiction Literary Historical

<p>                                                   <strong>                                        Book II of Balzac's 'The Thirteen'</strong></p><p><strong>. . . I know there was a time when I used to like it best of all and thought not merely <em>Eugenie Grandet</em> but <em>Le Pere Goriot</em> (though not the <em>Peau de Chagrin)</em> dull in comparison. </strong>Some attention however must be paid to two remarkable characters on whom it is quite clear that Balzac expended a great deal of pains and one of whom he seems to have 'caressed' as the French say with a curious admixture of dislike and admiration. . . .</p><p>-- George Saintsbury</p>