Le Lys dans la vallée
Le Lys dans la Vallée (English: The Lily of the Valley) is an 1835 novel about love and society by the French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850). It concerns the emotionally vibrant but never consummated affection between Félix de Vandenesse and Henriette de Mortsauf. It is part of his series of novels (or Roman-fleuve) known as La Comédie humaine (The Human Comedy), which parodies and depicts French society in the period of the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy (1815–1848). In his novel he also mentions the château Azay-le-Rideau, which can still be visited today.
 Image from Le Lys dans la Vallée | |
| Author | Honoré de Balzac |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Édouard Toudouze |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Series | La Comédie humaine |
| Publisher | Edmond Werdet |
Publication date | 1835 |
| Preceded by | Le Curé de village |
| Followed by | La Peau de chagrin |
Inspiration
Henriette de Mortsauf was modelled on Balzac's close friend Laure Antoinette de Berny (née Hinner), a woman 22 years his senior who greatly encouraged his early career.[1] Mme. de Berny died shortly after reading the completed novel[2] — in which Henriette also dies.
References
- Honoré de Balzac by Albert Keim and Louis Lumet, chapter 4
- Women in the Life of Balzac by Juanita Helm Floyd
External links
- (in French) Le Lys dans la vallée, audio version
