Lost Illusions

&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LI&&RLost Illusions&&L/I&&R, by &&LB&&RHonore de Balzac&&L/B&&R, is part of the &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&R&&LI&&R &&L/I&&Rseries, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&R: &&LDIV&&R

• New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars
• Biographies of the authors
• Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events
• Footnotes and endnotes
• Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work
• Comments by other famous authors
• Study questions to challenge the readers viewpoints and expectations
• Bibliographies for further reading
• Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate

All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics &&L/I&&Rpulls together a constellation of influences--biographical, historical, and literary--to enrich each readers understanding of these enduring works.&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R &&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&RAmong the best known of &&LSTRONG&&RBalzac&&L/B&&R's novels, &&LI&&RLost Illusions&&L/I&&R chronicles the rise and fall of Lucien Chardon, a vain but naive young poet who leaves his provincial home to seek success and fortune in Parisian society. Paralleling Lucien's disastrously ambitious journey is the story of his friend and brother-in-law, hard-working inventor David Schard, who is beset by unscrupulous competitors and cheated in his printing business by his own father.&&LBR&&R &&LBR&&RConsidered the founder of French realism, Balzac painted equally faithful pictures of the glittering but superficial world of society and the lonely struggle of impoverished men of genius. The city has a corrosive effect on Lucien's artistic talent and moral strength, while David takes a brave stand against the constraints of provincial small-mindedness. Balzac plays out their contrasting but intertwined stories against the enduring themes of love, ambition, greed, loyalty, vanity, and betrayal. Will Lucien's debts be the ruin of both?&&LBR&&R &&LBR&&RPublished between 1837 and 1843, &&LI&&RLost Illusions&&L/I&&R is part of &&LI&&RLa Comdie Humaine,&&L/I&&R into which Balzac grouped more than ninety interlocking novels. In &&LI&&RLost Illusions&&L/I&&R, scores of minor characters from these other works help bring early-nineteenth-century France to brilliant life.&&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R &&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LB&&RMarie-Rose Logan&&L/B&&R received her Ph.D. from Yale and has held teaching appointments at Yale, Rice, Temple, and Columbia. Professor Logan is a recipient of the French government's Palmes Acadmiques and of awards from several foundations, including the National Endowment for the Humanities.&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R