Description
Book SynopsisBalzac's Cane is an English translation of Delphine de Girardin's 1836 novella,
La Canne de M. de Balzac, which centers around a protagonist named Tancred Dorimont, a brilliant young man plagued by his devastating good looks. In a social context in which appearance is everything, it seems for several chapters that beauty will break, rather than make, this young man's fortune. One evening as Tancred seeks to forget his problems by spending an evening at the opera, he observes M. de Balzac and learns the secret to this famous author's ability to know the innermost secrets of all walks of life with such detail and intimacy; M. de Balzac's cane, a famously hideous walking stick, has the power to render the bearer invisible. A deal, which straddles the line between a favor and blackmail, is worked out between these two men and the cane comes into Tancred's possession. With this tool Tancred is able to overhear state secrets, make his fortune, and then set his sights upon f
Trade Review«Wilkinson's translation offers an excellent and timely contribution to nineteenth-century literary, cultural, and French studies [...].»
(Michelle S. Cheyne, French Studies 1/2018)
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments – Introduction: The Seen, the Unseen, and the Power of Possession in Girardin’s Balzac’s Cane – Translator’s Note – Timeline for Delphine de Girardin (née Gay) – Balzac’s Cane by Delphine de Girardin – Preface – A Fatal Gift – First Obstacle – Second Obstacle – Third Obstacle – Monsieur de Balzac’s Cane – Concerns – Subtle Maneuvers – Fatality – Great Discovery – Wonder – A Happy Accident – The Cane Is in Danger – Without Knowing – New Perils – Seductions – Grace! Grace for Yourself! And Grace for Myself! – Unknown Joy – A Poetic Evening – A Muse – The Sibyl’s Cave – A Ghost – A Day of Inspiration – An Illusion Shattered – A Dream Come True – Notes – Selected Bibliography.
