The Chouans (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Honoré de Balzac (Author), Marion Ayton Crawford (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 30, 1972

"The Chouans, " the first volume in Balzac's magnificent novel sequence "La Comedie Humaine, " is the tale of the Royalist uprising in Brittany against the post-revolutionary republic.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation)

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (May 30, 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014044260X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140442601
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #527,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting historical background, January 30, 2001

By 

Guillermo Maynez (Mexico, Distrito Federal Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Chouans (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

This early novel is set in the civil war which followed the French Revolution, betweeen Republicanists and Royalists, called "chouans". These were guerrill-type bands sponsored by aristocrats, fighting to depose the new regime and reestablish the old one. In the plot, a Republican woman is sent to France to help with intelligence-gathering. But she falls in love with one of the chouan leaders. Another spy maneuvres to make her think her lover has betrayed her, and so she conspires against him. I don't share the other reviewers's opinion that it is a bad novel. It is just an average one by a great writer. I enjoyed it, though.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's my first Balzac, December 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Chouans (Paperback)

I don't find it dissapointing at all. I actually enjoyed reading it, although it started in a quite boring way. I love all books that reffer to the French Revolution or to the Napoleonic era, like War and Peace, Les Miserables etc. The style didn't look wonderful, but the plot was very interesting and the characters well drawn.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Day without a Tomorrow..., November 29, 2010

By 

John P. Jones III (Albuquerque, NM, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chouans (Folio) (French Edition) (Mass Market Paperback)

"Les Chouans is Honoré de Balzac's first "real" novel; he had previously published "pot boilers" under pseudonyms. It was published in 1829, following his multi-month stay the previous year, gathering background material, in Fougeres, in eastern Brittany. The novel is set in 1799, 10 years after the commencement of the French Revolution. It was the year that France, exhausted from the violence and excesses of the Revolution, embraced a "strong-man" savior, named Napoleon. But there was still not peace in the Brittany region, which contained strong Catholic and Royalist sentiment. The Vendée had been in revolt, and continued sporadic fighting since 1793. "Les Chouans" were followers of a rebel (i.e., anti-republican) leader, Jean Chouan, and they allied themselves with forces in the Vendée.

The two principal protagonists in this novel are Mlle. Marie de Verneuil and Marquis de Montauran, also known as "Le Gars." She is devastatingly beautiful, and as we learn much later, the "natural" daughter of an aristocrat. She is working for the Republican Chief of Police, Joseph Fouché (who would trump Machiavelli many fold in his devious and self-serving use of power), and has been sent to entrap Le Gars. In the process however - quelle suprise - she falls in (and out) of love with the man. There are a host of minor characters who plot and counterplot, cross, and double-cross each other, which seems to be the nature of war, particularly of the so-called "civil" variety, and also, alas, as the cynics would say, love too. Indeed, "hell hadth no fury like a woman scorned" is one of the themes also.

The first section of the book is entitled "L'embuscade." In it, Republican (Bleu) forces, who are leading a group of reluctant conscripts from Brittany to go fight in the wars against the other European countries which are trying to end the revolution, and are ambushed by Les Chouans, led by a youthful aristocrat. As an aside, I'd love to know if there is any evidence that Balzac inspired Faulkner, who commenced The Unvanquished: The Corrected Text with a chapter on an ambush, with similar themes of regional forces, in a losing game, trying to resist the stronger, central forces of the state. Comments are welcome.

For me, the strongest portions of the book are Balzac's evocative descriptions of the Brittany countryside, often enveloped in fog and mist. The author describes some walks in the woods that I'd love to repeat. Indeed, he has placed the "off the beaten path" town of Fougeres on the map as a "must-see" destination. He also describes effectively why the hedgerows of Brittany are ideal for "guerilla warfare." And by setting the novel in 1799 he helps illuminate a "cusp" period of French history, the transition from the Revolutionary period to the Napoleonic one. And Balzac had some "digs" at the political use of religion.

But lawdy, the downside to the novel is immense. The action resembles a poorly written "soap opera." The dialogue is all too often stilted and tedious. The characters seem to be made out of cardboard. Revealing the living conditions and attitudes of the Chouans, through the seemingly random wanderings of de Verneuil, during a time of insecurity in the countryside, was a mechanism riddled with implausibilites, particularly when she rescued the "miser," by scaring his torturers by feigning to be a ghost. And the owl, as a harbinger of misfortune, was likewise overplayed. Equally, the motivation of other characters for particular actions was either poorly explained, or non-existent. It was hard for me to believe this was written by the same man who produced the excellent Le Pere Goriot (Petits Classiques Larousse Texte Integral) (French Edition) and Eugénie Grandet: Scènes de la vie de Province. (French Edition). Fortunately for Balzac, as well as ourselves, there were many tomorrows after today, unlike the untimely demise of the protagonists, and I'd advise concentrating on his "tomorrows."

As for his first real novel, I found the almost 500 pages a thinly rewarding slog. 3-stars.