Project Gutenberg 2004-10-18 Public domain in the USA. 90 Balzac, Honoré de 1799 1850 Balzac, Honore de Saint-Aubin, Horace de De Balzac, Honoré Balzac, H. de (Honoré de) Bell, Clara 1834 1927 Gaudissart II Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaudissart_II Produced by John Bickers, and Dagny "Gaudissart II" by Honoré de Balzac is a satirical short story that belongs to the genre of social realism, written in the early to mid-19th century during the post-Napoleonic period in France. The narrative focuses on the intricacies of commerce and the art of selling in Paris, showcasing how social interactions and transactions are deeply influenced by the nuances of human behavior and perception. The story centers around Gaudissart, a commercial traveler whose success hinges on his wit and charm in the marketplace. Through his experiences and interactions with a variety of customers—ranging from aristocrats to ordinary citizens—Balzac illustrates the theatricality of selling, emphasizing the pivotal role of seduction and persuasion in the world of commerce. The narrative captures the dynamics between the shopkeepers and their clients, showcasing how the former adeptly read the desires and emotions of the latter. Ultimately, the text serves as a critique of both the superficiality of social status and the impact of consumer culture, presenting a lively tableau of Parisian life and the complexities of human desires within it. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 66.4 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en French fiction -- Translations into English PQ Text Category: Short Stories Category: Novels Category: French Literature 53498 2025-08-01T09:55:18.261158 text/html 48872 2013-04-04T14:11:50 text/html; charset=us-ascii 89919 2025-08-01T09:55:22.254125 application/epub+zip 88501 2025-08-01T09:55:20.016107 application/epub+zip 88502 2025-08-01T09:55:18.916110 application/epub+zip 186135 2025-08-01T09:55:24.138076 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 179344 2025-08-01T09:55:21.576111 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 147624 2022-09-01T11:07:55.209445 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 43651 2023-10-01T09:01:01.251636 text/plain 16701 2025-08-01T09:55:24.271088 application/rdf+xml 13862 2025-08-01T09:55:19.408106 image/jpeg 3768 2025-08-01T09:55:19.160100 image/jpeg 86971 2025-08-01T09:55:18.269139 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 fr.wikipedia en.wikipedia