Project Gutenberg 1998-09-01 Public domain in the USA. 107 Balzac, Honoré de 1799 1850 Balzac, Honore de Saint-Aubin, Horace de De Balzac, Honoré Balzac, H. de (Honoré de) Wormeley, Katharine Prescott 1830 1908 The Illustrious Gaudissart Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27illustre_Gaudissart Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny, and David Widger "The Illustrious Gaudissart" by Honoré de Balzac is a satirical novella written during the early 19th century, specifically reflecting the period of the Restoration in France. This work, categorized as a comic social commentary, focuses on the character of Gaudissart, a commercial traveler, who represents the blend of mundane commercial activities with the lively and chaotic world of provincial French society. The story critiques the gaps between Parisian sophistication and provincial simplicity, illustrating the humorous misadventures of its protagonist. In the novella, Felix Gaudissart, the titular "illustrious" traveler, boasts of his persuasive skills as he navigates through various provinces, attempting to sell insurance and subscriptions to a newspaper while engaging with the local populace. His encounters highlight a series of comedic misunderstandings and social faux pas, primarily when he unwittingly becomes entangled with a local madman, Margaritis, whom he believes to be a wealthy benefactor. The story culminates in a duel, initially intended as a matter of honor, which ultimately resolves in an unexpected camaraderie over personality clashes and misjudgments. Through humor, Balzac critiques social norms, ambitions, and the ridiculousness inherent in human interactions across class divides. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 68.9 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en French fiction -- Translations into English PQ Text Category: Humour Category: Novels Category: French Literature 126175 2025-07-01T09:38:33.460707 text/html 128306 2021-01-27T19:40:27 text/html; charset=utf-8 118880 2025-07-01T09:38:38.953686 application/epub+zip 119232 2025-07-01T09:38:36.309708 application/epub+zip 102155 2025-07-01T09:38:35.239725 application/epub+zip 253653 2025-07-01T09:38:40.911709 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 243188 2025-07-01T09:38:38.309708 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 204862 2022-09-01T11:07:47.431378 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 107060 2025-07-01T09:38:33.158718 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 106997 2016-11-22T12:18:52 text/plain; charset=utf-8 17488 2025-07-01T09:38:41.035701 application/rdf+xml 14672 2025-07-01T09:38:35.723738 image/jpeg 3864 2025-07-01T09:38:35.480711 image/jpeg 116880 2025-07-01T09:38:33.470814 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia fr.wikipedia