The Ball at Sceaux

What It's About

Émilie de Fontaine, the spoiled and strong-willed youngest daughter of the Comte de Fontaine, has turned down one eligible suitor after another, refusing to settle for anyone who isn't a peer of France. At a lively countryside ball at Sceaux, she becomes fascinated by a refined young stranger who seems to want nothing to do with her, devoting his attention instead to his frail younger sister. Certain he must be a nobleman in disguise, Émilie sets out to discover who he really is.

Key Concepts

The novella is a study in pride and vanity, skewering the obsession with rank and title among the French aristocracy of the Restoration period. Balzac uses Émilie's snobbery to explore the gap between appearance and true worth, and the risks of judging people by birth rather than character.

About the Author

Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright, widely regarded as one of the founders of literary realism in Europe. He is best known for his vast sequence of interconnected novels and stories, La Comédie Humaine, which set out to portray the whole of French society in the decades after Napoleon's fall.

About This Edition

This is an 1898 translation by Clara Bell.