The Girl With the Golden Eyes [Hardcover]

Honore de Balzac (Author), Carol Cosman (Author, Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1998

This thrilling work explores the dark side o f Parisian society and is part of a trilogy of novellas that make up Balzac''s important History of the Thirteen. '

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This classic étude of the Parisian underworld from Balzac's History of the Thirteen trilogy was considered shocking in its day, and inspired a host of bad-boy poets and artists from Baudelaire to Swinburne to Balthus. The story still provides a jolt of naturalistic cruelty in its glib concluding lines, but its orientalism, emotional detachment, and paradoxical twist make it as much a portrait of Parisian manners of the mid-19th century as a study of one man's infatuation with a woman of impossible beauty and innocence. The fops and downtrodden workers and complacent petite bourgeoisie of the period are all present--gambling or saving or scheming--oblivious to the erotic servitude concealed behind the walls of one of the finest mansions on the Rue Saint-Lazare. When Henri de Marsay, the pampered and decadent heir of Lord Dudley, is led blindfolded to an assignation with the woman he most covets, he finds that his hated rival is his true brother--or, rather, sister--in vice. --Regina Marler

From Library Journal

Part of his "History of the Thirteen" trilogy, Balzac's novella deals with the dark side of love as protagonist Henri de Marsay's attempts to seduce an innocent girl lead to jealousy and revenge. This volume is suitable for academic collections supporting French literature curricula.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 119 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub (December 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786705612
• ISBN-13: 978-0786705610
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,440,416 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Parisian pulp fiction, November 17, 2005

By 

Orrin C. Judd "brothersjudddotcom" (Hanover, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Girl With the Golden Eyes (Hardcover)

This novella, the middle volume in Balzac's History of the Thirteen, is perhaps best thought of as a penny dreadful with a pedigree or a kind of Jim Thompson noir with literary pretensions. It's the melodramatic tale of Henri de Marsay, a physically beautiful but spiritually empty young man who devotes all his time to the pursuit of sensation and sensual pleasure. He develops a burning lust for the inaccessible golden-eyed girl of the title, Paquita Valdes. It's tempting to image that her eye-color is meant to indicate that she's merely an object, but I don't know that we can read that much into Balzac. At any rate, de Marsay does manage to seduce her, but becomes enraged when he realizes that she's the kept pet of a hidden rival, for whom he's something of a stand-in during their lovemaking. He cooks up a plan of revenge but by the time he arrives at the seraglio to effect it, Paquita has been murdered by her original lover, who turns out to be none other than Henri's equally beautiful and heartless half-sister. None of the characters are the least bit sympathetic, but as an indictment of Parisian life and French mores it's enjoyable enough.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars formidable book, April 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Girl With the Golden Eyes (Hardcover)

Excellent book, full of intelligence, to understand what beauty is.