Published in 1837,

had preoccupied Balzac for much of the previous six years, with repeated references, in correspondence with friends and publishers, to the novel’s progress and claims of its imminent completion. In an extensive preface, written in 1834, to the

, of which

was to

form a part, Félix Davin, the novelist and poet writing at Balzac’s instigation and under his direction, paid tribute to a novel that was still, at that point, in embryonic form at best. Its inclusion under the heading of

was an early indication, however, of the role Balzac intended for it in the architecture of the

as a whole. César Birotteau was to be seen as the “type parfait du négociant probe” [“the…

3371 words

Citation: Wagstaff, Peter. "César Birotteau". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 November 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11196, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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