The Marriage Contract

About this film

LibriVox recording of The Marriage Contract by Honoré de Balzac. (Translated by Katherine Prescott Wormeley.) Read in English by Bruce Pirie. Balzac’s novel “The Marriage Contract” (1835) is part of his “Scenes of Private Life,” which is one section of “The Human Comedy,” his great fiction series. A wealthy gentleman wishes to marry a beautiful heiress, whose mother is a Spanish Creole. (In this context, “Creole” refers to a person who is genetically European, but born in a New World colony.) As was common for wealthy families of that time, notaries are hired to negotiate a prenuptial agreement. The details of 19th-century financial arrangements may well seem obscure for modern readers. What remains true throughout time, however, is Balzac’s unsparing portrait of humanity, in all its romantic illusions and its naked avarice, its capacity for naïve innocence and for scheming treachery. - Summary by Bruce Pirie For further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording. For more free audio books or to become a volunteer reader, visit librivox.org . M4B Audi…

Directors & creators

Honoré de Balzac

Subjects

librivox; audiobooks;marriage; realism; 19th century france; marriage contract; prenuptial

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