Repertory of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A — Z

"Repertory of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A — Z" by Cerfberr and Christophe is a comprehensive reference work written in the late 19th century. This text serves as an alphabetized index of characters from Honoré de Balzac's vast literary universe, known as the Comédie Humaine, detailing significant aspects of their lives and emphasizing Balzac's innovative approach to interconnected storytelling. Readers will find it particularly useful for tracing the development of recurring characters, such as Eugène de Rastignac, through Balzac's many narratives. The opening of this work includes a detailed translator’s preface that establishes the importance of the Repertory as a valuable tool for both casual readers and devoted fans of Balzac. It discusses Balzac's unique character-driven writing style, where characters appear across different stories, thereby creating a rich tapestry of social and political life in 19th-century France. Additionally, the introduction elaborates on Balzac's influence on literature, his detailed character sketches, and the emotional resonance his works invoke in readers, laying a robust foundation for what is to follow in the body of the Repertory. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Anatole Cerfberr was a French journalist and author. Under various pseudonyms, among which were "Arthur Clary," "Antoine Cerlier," and "Fulgence Ridal," he contributed to numerous papers. He was an admirer of Honoré de Balzac and Victor Hugo, an ardent socialist, and well versed in matters concerning the stage. Cerfberr published many poems, biographies, studies, etc. Together with Jules François Christophe, he also published a work entitled Répertoire de la Comédie Humaine de H. de Balzac, which was crowned by the Académie française. The purpose of the Répertoire is to give in alphabetical sequence the names of all the characters of Balzac's Comédie Humaine, together with the salient points in their lives. Balzac made his characters appear again and again, thus creating out of his distinct novels a miniature world. The work of Cerfberr and Christophe is a guide to that world.