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<rss xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:podcast="https://podcastindex.org/namespace/1.0" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" version="2.0"><channel><title>Duchess of Langeais</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/duchess-of-langeais--7088445</link><description><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. Originally titled “Don’t Touch the Axe,” Balzac's novel is a searing examination of the pathology of love, as experienced by the privileged of his day. - Summary by Bruce Pirie]]></description><atom:link href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/7088445/episodes/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><language>en</language><category>Books</category><copyright>Copyright Literary Fiction Genre</copyright><image><url>https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/6cb9d9fb1033a16c5b4d96ebe54463f1.jpg</url><title>Duchess of Langeais</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/duchess-of-langeais--7088445</link></image><lastBuildDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:07:00 +0000</lastBuildDate><itunes:author>Honoré de Balzac</itunes:author><itunes:owner><itunes:name>Literary Fiction Genre</itunes:name><itunes:email>spreaker64@podcastlibrary.org</itunes:email></itunes:owner><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/6cb9d9fb1033a16c5b4d96ebe54463f1.jpg"/><itunes:subtitle>“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view,...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. Originally titled “Don’t Touch the Axe,” Balzac's novel is a searing examination of the pathology of love, as experienced by the privileged of his day. - Summary by Bruce Pirie]]></itunes:summary><itunes:category text="Arts"><itunes:category text="Books"/></itunes:category><itunes:category text="History"/><itunes:category text="Society &amp; Culture"/><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><podcast:guid>0dd32149-b95e-560c-82dd-d828aa0a67e0</podcast:guid><itunes:type>episodic</itunes:type><item><title>Prisoner of Morro-Upton Sinclair</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/prisoner-of-morro-upton-sinclair--74062466</link><description><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. Originally titled “Don’t Touch the Axe,” Balzac's novel is a searing examination of the pathology of love, as experienced by the privileged of his day. - Summary by Bruce Pirie]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74062466</guid><pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:00:44 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74062466/4514_prisoner_of_morro_upton_sinclair.mp3" length="158683861" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Honoré de Balzac</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view,...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. Originally titled “Don’t Touch the Axe,” Balzac's novel is a searing examination of the pathology of love, as experienced by the privileged of his day. - Summary by Bruce Pirie]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>19816</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/6cb9d9fb1033a16c5b4d96ebe54463f1.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Whose Body (Version 3 - dramatic reading)-Dorothy L. Sayers</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/whose-body-version-3-dramatic-reading-dorothy-l-sayers--74037892</link><description><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. Originally titled “Don’t Touch the Axe,” Balzac's novel is a searing examination of the pathology of love, as experienced by the privileged of his day. - Summary by Bruce Pirie]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74037892</guid><pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:02:01 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74037892/whose_body_version_3_dramatic_reading_dorothy_l_sayers.mp3" length="194520247" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Honoré de Balzac</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view,...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. 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In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. Originally titled “Don’t Touch the Axe,” Balzac's novel is a searing examination of the pathology of love, as experienced by the privileged of his day. - Summary by Bruce Pirie]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/74015987</guid><pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2026 09:02:00 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/74015987/frailty_and_hypocrisy_figaro_trilogy_3_pierre_beaumarchais.mp3" length="61335590" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Honoré de Balzac</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view,...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. 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In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. Originally titled “Don’t Touch the Axe,” Balzac's novel is a searing examination of the pathology of love, as experienced by the privileged of his day. - Summary by Bruce Pirie]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73991133</guid><pubDate>Sat, 22 Aug 2026 09:01:26 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73991133/letters_of_a_portuguese_nun_mariana_alcoforado_gabriel_joseph_de_lavergne.mp3" length="67786477" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Honoré de Balzac</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view,...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. 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In Balzac’s view,...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. 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In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. Originally titled “Don’t Touch the Axe,” Balzac's novel is a searing examination of the pathology of love, as experienced by the privileged of his day. - Summary by Bruce Pirie]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73945464</guid><pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2026 09:01:39 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73945464/house_behind_the_cedars_charles_waddell_chesnutt.mp3" length="216218862" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Honoré de Balzac</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view,...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. 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In Balzac’s view,...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. 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In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. Originally titled “Don’t Touch the Axe,” Balzac's novel is a searing examination of the pathology of love, as experienced by the privileged of his day. - Summary by Bruce Pirie]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73895936</guid><pubDate>Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:01:36 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73895936/20981_unknown_masterpiece_honore_de_balzac.mp3" length="41407466" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Honoré de Balzac</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view,...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. 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In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. Originally titled “Don’t Touch the Axe,” Balzac's novel is a searing examination of the pathology of love, as experienced by the privileged of his day. - Summary by Bruce Pirie]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73871792</guid><pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:01:38 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73871792/8473_wanted_a_husband_samuel_hopkins_adams.mp3" length="151552521" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Honoré de Balzac</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view,...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. Originally titled “Don’t Touch the Axe,” Balzac's novel is a searing examination of the pathology of love, as experienced by the privileged of his day. - Summary by Bruce Pirie]]></itunes:summary><itunes:duration>18925</itunes:duration><itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit><itunes:image href="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/6cb9d9fb1033a16c5b4d96ebe54463f1.jpg"/><itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType></item><item><title>Uncle's Dream-Fyodor Dostoyevsky</title><link>https://www.spreaker.com/episode/uncle-s-dream-fyodor-dostoyevsky--73851654</link><description><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. Originally titled “Don’t Touch the Axe,” Balzac's novel is a searing examination of the pathology of love, as experienced by the privileged of his day. - Summary by Bruce Pirie]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73851654</guid><pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2026 09:01:36 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73851654/uncle_s_dream_fyodor_dostoyevsky.mp3" length="175284918" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Honoré de Balzac</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view,...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. 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In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. Originally titled “Don’t Touch the Axe,” Balzac's novel is a searing examination of the pathology of love, as experienced by the privileged of his day. - Summary by Bruce Pirie]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73834988</guid><pubDate>Sat, 15 Aug 2026 09:02:19 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73834988/idle_hours_in_a_library_william_henry_hudson.mp3" length="155905045" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Honoré de Balzac</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view,...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. 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In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. 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In Balzac’s view,...</itunes:subtitle><itunes:summary><![CDATA[“The Duchess of Langeais” (1834) is part of Balzac’s great life’s work, the sprawling novel series called “The Human Comedy.” This novel is set in Paris, in the years after Napoleon’s fall and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. 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This exploration of human relationships and the pursuit of status remains relevant today, as it reflects the timeless struggle for acceptance and the complexities of romantic entanglements. Balzac's keen observations of character and society invite listeners to reflect on their own experiences with love and ambition, making this tale an enduring classic that resonates across generations.]]></description><guid isPermaLink="false">https://api.spreaker.com/episode/73342697</guid><pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:57:19 +0000</pubDate><enclosure url="https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/73342697/ball_at_sceaux_honore_de_balzac.mp3" length="78637454" type="audio/mpeg"/><itunes:author>Honoré de Balzac</itunes:author><itunes:subtitle>"Ball at Sceaux" by Honoré de Balzac delves into the intricacies of social ambition and the quest for love within the context of a lavish ball in 19th-century France. 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In Balzac’s view, the aristocracy had squandered its chance to bring leadership and stability to France, and was instead seduced by a sense of entitlement, wasting away in “the sterility of the salons.” We follow the story of a love affair that is frustrated by the obsessive, willful manipulations of its two principal characters. The duchess is a “spoilt child of civilization.” Her opposite is a military hero, naïve in the ways of the salon, but accustomed to winning his battles. “Love” is confused with “passion” and twisted by the elegant artifices of polite society. 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