All happiness depends on courage and work.
born in Tours, France, May 20, 1799
died August 18, 1850
gender: male
genre: Literature & Fiction
Honoré de Balzac was a nineteenth-century French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of almost 100 novels and plays collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the fall of Napoléon Bonaparte in 1815.Due to his keen observation of detail and unfiltered representation of society, Balzac is regarded as one of the founders of realism in European literature. He is renowned for his multi-faceted characters; even his lesser characters are complex, morally ambiguous and fully human. Inanimate objects are imbued with character as well; the city of Paris, a backdrop for much of his writing, takes on many human qualities.
His writing influenced many famous authors, including the novelists Marcel Proust, Émile Zola, Charles Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, Henry James and Jack Kerouac, as well as important philosophers such as Friedrich Engels. Many of Balzac’s works have been made into films, and they continue to inspire other writers.
poet4justicedotwordpressdotcom 
‘March 19, 1842: French writer Honoré de Balzac was always up for a get-rich-quick scheme. Hoping to drum up some buzz for his latest play, he spread a rumor that it was sold out. It opened 171 years ago today, to an empty theater.’
– Goodreads
I appreciate you providing the story/information for the quote you use. It makes more interesting to read.
Thanks, Amy! 🙂