Other editions of book The Secrets Of The Princesse De Cadignan

French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac is widely regarded as the founder of realism in European fiction, due to his keen observations and his unfiltered presentation of society. Although Balzac was a prolific writer finishing over ninety works in his life time he left many unfinished. During his life he attempted to be a publisher, businessman, critic and politician; failing at everything but writing he used his personal experiences that he got from each of these endeavors into his work.

"Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan" is a comic tale about a society woman, a Princess and a Duchess, who attempts to recycle her slightly seedy past by pursuing a minor literary figure of great probity and innocence. The Princess de Cadignan, aka the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, has consorted with such notable Balzac rakes as Henri de Marsay, Maxime de Trailles, and Eugene de Rastignac, but is disconcerted to find herself being stalked by an unknown but comely young man. The Princesse de Cadignan, nee Diane d'Uxelles appears in a number of stories of the "Human Comedy". Her husband left France with the Royal Family after the disasters of the Revolution of July 1830, but the Princess decided to remain in Paris. With much of the great family's fortune unavailable for her use, she determined to live in complete retirement, forgotten by society.

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THE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNANBy Honore De BalzacTranslated by Katharine Prescott WormeleyDEDICATIONTo Theophile GautierTHE SECRETS OF THE PRINCESSE DE CADIGNANCHAPTER I. THE LAST WORD OF TWO GREAT COQUETTESAfter the disasters of the revolution of July, which destroyed so many aristocratic fortunes dependent on the court, Madame la Princesse de Cadignan was clever enough to attribute to political events the total ruin she had caused by her own extravagance. The prince left France with the royal family, and never returned to it, leaving the princess in Paris, protected by the fact of his absence; for their debts, which the sale of all their salable property had not been able to extinguish, could only be recovered through him. The revenues of the entailed estates had been seized. In short, the affairs of this great family were in as bad a state as those of the elder branch of the Bourbons.This woman, so celebrated under her first name of Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, very wisely decided to live in retirement, and to make herself, if possible, forgotten. Paris was then so carried away by the whirling current of events that the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, buried in the Princesse de Cadignan, a change of name unknown to most of the new actors brought upon the stage of society by the revolution of July, did really become a stranger in her own city.In Paris the title of duke ranks all others, even that of prince; though, in heraldic theory, free of all sophism, titles signify nothing; there is absolute equality among gentlemen. This fine equality was formerly maintained by the House of France itself; and in our day it is so still, at least, nominally; witness the care with which the kings of France give to their sons the simple title of count. It was in virtue of this system that Francois I. crushed the splendid titles assumed by the pompous Charles the Fifth, by signing his answer: "Francois, seigneur de Vanves." Louis XI. did better still by marrying his daughter to an untitled gentleman, Pierre de Beaujeu. The feudal system was so thoroughly broken up by Louis XIV. that the title of duke became, during his reign, the supreme honor of the aristocracy, and the most coveted.Nevertheless there are two or three families in France in which the principality, richly endowed in former times, takes precedence of the duchy. The house of Cadignan, which possesses the title of Duc de Maufrigneuse for its eldest sons, is one of these exceptional families. Like the princes of the house of Rohan in earlier days, the princes of Cadignan had the right to a throne in their own domain; they could have pages and gentlemen in their service. This explanation is necessary, as much to escape foolish critics who know nothing, as to record the customs of a world which, we are told, is about to disappear, and which, evidently, so many persons are assisting to push away without knowing what it is.The Cadignans bear: or, five lozenges sable appointed, placed fess wise, with the word "Memini" for motto, a crown with a cap of maintenance, no supporters or mantle. In these days the great crowd of strangers flocking to Paris, and the almost universal ignorance of the science of heraldry, are beginning to bring the title of prince into fashion. There are no real princes but those possessed of principalities, to whom belongs the title of highness. The disdain shown by the French nobility for the title of prince, and the reasons which caused Louis XIV. to give supremacy to the title of duke, have prevented Frenchmen from claiming the appellation of "highness" for the few princes who exist in France, those of Napoleon excepted. This is why the princes of Cadignan hold an inferior position, nominally, to the princes of the continent.

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"The Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan" by Honoré de Balzac (translated by Katharine Prescott Wormeley). Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Secrets of the Princesse de Cadignan is a comic tale about a society woman, a Princess and a Duchess, who attempts to recycle her slightly seedy past by pursuing a minor literary figure of great probity and innocence. The Princess de Cadignan, aka the Duchesse de Maufrigneuse, has consorted with such notable Balzac rakes as Henri de Marsay, Maxime de Trailles, and Eugène de Rastignac, but is disconcerted to find herself being stalked by an unknown but comely young man. It turns out that this young man is killed in a political riot. His name was Michel Chrestien, and he was known to be the close friend of an author named Daniel d'Arthez. With her ego gratified by Chrestien's attention, the Princess seeks to make a conquest of d'Arthez, which she proceeds to do by whitewashing her past and pulling the wool firmly over Daniel's eyes.