Novel by Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac: Maître Cornelius
Category: Novellas; History, France, King Louis XI
ISBN: 1-59569-017-4
104 pages
Balzac's famous medieval love story, in which
he turns King Louis XI of France into a detective. Set in the fifteenth
century, this is a tale of a married woman whose lover apprentices himself
to a silversmith, Maitre Cornelius, just to be nearer to her.
Trivia/History: In May, 1831, Balzac
(1799-1850) was again away from Paris, this time taking up his abode in
Nemours, where he describes himself as living alone in a tent in the depths
of the earth, subsisting on coffee, and working day and night at "La
Peau de Chagrin," (The Wild-Ass's Skin) with "L'Auberge Rouge,"
which he was writing for the Revue de Paris, as his only distraction.
These absences did not apparently cause any friction; but when, in November,
1831, Balzac went to Sache to stay with M. de Margonne, and then moved
on to the Carrauds, he left "Le Maître Cornelius," which
he was writing for the Revue de Paris, in an unfinished and uncorrected
condition. Thereupon, Amédée Pichot, who naturally wanted
consecutive numbers of the story for his magazine, committed what was
in Balzac's eyes an unpardonable breach of trust, by publishing the uncorrected
proofs, leaving out or altering what he did not understand. Balzac was
furious at his signature being appended to what he considered unfinished
work. Amédée Pichot was also very angry, because Balzac
had unduly lengthened the first part of the story, and had kept him two
months waiting for the finish. Therefore, as diligence was the only mode
of transit, and it was necessary that "Le Maître Cornelius"
should end with the year, it was impossible to send the proofs before
printing for correction to Angoulême. Nevertheless, as he had undoubtedly
exceeded his rights as editor, he thought it wise to temporise, and wrote
an explanatory and conciliatory letter; and as this did not pacify Balzac,
he dispatched a second of similar tenor.
However, a few days later, on January 9th, 1832, he felt compelled by
the tone of Balzac's correspondence to send a third beginning: "Sir,
I find from the tone of your letter that I am guilty of doing you a great
wrong. I have treated on an equality and as a comrade a superior person,
whom I should have been contented to admire. I therefore beg your pardon
humbly for the 'My dear Balzac' of my preceding letters. I will preserve
the distance of 'Monsieur' between you and me."
Mary F. Sandars in: Honoré de Balzac, His Life and Writing
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ISBN: 1595690174
/ 978-1595690173
Language: English
Subjects: Fiction
(French Classics - History - Love Story - Adventure - Detective - Novella)
Pages: 104
Book Type: 5.5
x 8.5 in, Perfect Bound - Paperback)
ORDER:
In the US:
Mondial
Bookstore
Amazon.com
Barnes&Nobles
In the UK:
Amazon.co.uk
In Canada:
Amazon.ca
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