Social novel, revenge novel · Medium-hard

Cousin Bette

Honoré de Balzac · 1846 · France

A poor, resentful cousin becomes the center of a revenge plot against a wealthy family rotting from vanity, lust, debt, and self-deception.

Notes and Misconceptions

Bette is vicious, but the society around her is already corrupt. Balzac is more interested in systems than clean moral sorting.

This is a good Balzac entry point if Père Goriot feels too obvious.

Realism, money, family systems