Part of La Comédie Humaine
First published 2001
Madame de Dey has found refuge in the Norman town of Carentan during the bloodiest months of the French Revolution. The widowed aristocrat has abandoned the glittering world of Versailles for this provincial sanctuary, where she has somehow won the affection of townspeople who might otherwise view her noble birth with suspicion. Her devotion centers entirely on her son, the last hope of her ancient family line. When November 1793 arrives, Madame de Dey suddenly cancels her regular evening gatherings without explanation. The abrupt change in her social routine sets tongues wagging throughout Carentan. Neighbors whisper about her mysterious behavior as speculation spreads from house to house. In an era when a single accusation can mean death, even the smallest deviation from normal patterns carries enormous risk. Balzac captures a mother's fierce love colliding with the paranoid atmosphere of revolutionary France, where survival depends on maintaining perfect appearances.
Genres: drama, classic-literature, french-literature, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, psychological, suspenseful, tense
Tropes: mother-child-bond, secrets-and-suspicion, social-pressure
Setting: Carentan, Normandy, Versailles, France
Period: 1793, French Revolution, November 1793
26 pages · Paperback · Blue Unicorn Editions
Content warnings: death, violence