Balzac, Honoré de

Honoré de Balzac was born in Tours on 20 May 1799 as the son of a senior administrative official. After studying law and unsuccessful attempts as a playwright and novelist, he kept his head above water as a publisher and printer until his extroverted lifestyle led him into debt. He was unable to complete the Human Comedy, his life's work. He only managed to complete 91 of the 137 novels and stories he had planned by the time of his death on 18 August 1850. Balzac embodies the literary establishment of the Restoration period in France like no other author.