The Human Comedy Books in Order
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1822–1848 series of novels, essays and stories by Honoré de Balzac
Originally written in French, The Human Comedy was first published in 1830 in France.
Publication order
In the order the books were originally released.
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Buy on Amazon1829 · Honoré de Balzac
Les Chouans is a 1829 novel by Honoré de Balzac, part of the Scènes de la vie militaire section of his larger work La Comédie humaine. Set in…
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Le Colonel Chabert is an 1832 novella by Honoré de Balzac, a French novelist and playwright. It is part of his larger work La Comédie humaine, a…
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Adieu is a short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1830 in the magazine La Mode. The story is part of Balzac's series Études…
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1830 · Honoré de Balzac
Une passion dans le désert is a short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1830 and is part of La Comédie humaine, specifically the Scènes…
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El Verdugo is a short story by Honoré de Balzac, published in 1830. It forms part of the Études philosophiques within Balzac's larger collection La…
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1830 · Honoré de Balzac
Étude de femme is a short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1830 and is part of the Scènes de la vie privée section of La Comédie…
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La Paix du ménage is a French short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was first published in 1830 by Mame et Delaunay-Vallée as part of Balzac's Scènes…
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La Vendetta is a novel by Honoré de Balzac, part of his larger work La Comédie humaine. It is the eighth of the Scènes de la vie privée and was first…
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Le Bal de Sceaux is a 1830 book by Honoré de Balzac. It is part of the series The Human Comedy.
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Une double famille is a short story by Honoré de Balzac that was first published in 1830 under the title La femme vertueuse. It was later released in…
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Gobseck is a novella written by French author Honoré de Balzac, part of the Scènes de la vie privée section of his larger work La Comédie humaine. It…
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Buy on Amazon1831 · Honoré de Balzac
La Grande Bretèche is a short story by Honoré de Balzac, published in 1831. It is part of La Comédie humaine, a series of works that depict French…
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1831 · Honoré de Balzac
L'Auberge rouge is a short story written by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1831 and is part of Balzac's series Études philosophiques, which is…
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"Le Chef-d'œuvre inconnu" is a short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was first published in August 1831 in the newspaper L'Artiste under the title…
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Les Proscrits is a short story by Honoré de Balzac, published in 1831 by éditions Gosselin and later in 1846 by Furne, Dubochet, Hetzel in Études…
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Buy on Amazon1831 · Honoré de Balzac
Maître Cornélius is a short story written by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1831 and is part of Balzac's Études philosophiques, which is…
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1831 · Honoré de Balzac
Le Réquisitionnaire is a short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1831 and is part of La Comédie humaine, specifically within the Études…
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Z. Marcas is a novelette by French author Honoré de Balzac, first published in 1840. Set in contemporary Paris, it follows the life of a political…
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Buy on Amazon1831 · Honoré de Balzac
Sarrasine is a novella written by Honoré de Balzac. It is part of his larger work, the Comédie humaine. The story was published in 1830 in the Revue…
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Buy on Amazon1831 · Honoré de Balzac
La Peau de chagrin is an 1831 novel by Honoré de Balzac. Set in early 19th-century Paris, it follows a young man who discovers a magic piece of…
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Buy on Amazon1832 · Honoré de Balzac
La Bourse is a short story by the French novelist Honoré de Balzac. It was first published in 1832 by Mame-Delaunay as part of La Comédie humaine's…
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1832 · Honoré de Balzac
La Grenadière is a short story written by Honoré de Balzac in 1832. It is part of his larger work, La Comédie humaine, specifically within the…
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Le Message is a short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1832 and is part of La Comédie humaine, specifically within the Scènes de la vie…
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The Duchess of Langeais is an 1834 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850), included in the Scènes de la vie parisienne section of his…
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Madame Firmiani is a short story by Honoré de Balzac, published in 1832. It is part of his larger work, La Comédie humaine, specifically the Scènes…
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Louis Lambert is an 1832 novel by Honoré de Balzac, part of the Études philosophiques section of his larger work La Comédie humaine. The story takes…
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Buy on Amazon1833 · Honoré de Balzac
First serialized from 1833 to 1834 and published in book form in 1834 by Honore de Balzac. While writing it he conceived his ambitious project La…
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1833 · Honoré de Balzac
Le Médecin de campagne is an 1833 novel by Honoré de Balzac. It is the second work in his Scène de la vie de campagne series. The novel explores…
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Un drame au bord de la mer is a short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1834 and is part of La Comédie humaine, specifically within the…
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The Quest of the Absolute is a novel by Honoré de Balzac. It first appeared in 1834, with seven chapter-divisions, as a Scène de la vie privée; was…
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Ferragus is an 1833 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac, part of the Scènes de la vie parisienne section of his larger work La Comédie humaine.…
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Buy on Amazon1834 · Honoré de Balzac
Seraphita is an 1834 novel by Honore de Balzac. In a castle in Norway near the fjord Stromfjord, the strange and melancholic Seraphitus conceals a…
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Buy on Amazon1835 · Honoré de Balzac
Father Goriot (Annotated) is an 1835 novel by Honoré de Balzac. This edition is part of the Hédi Bouraoui Collection in Maghrebian and Franco-Ontario…
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Le Contrat de mariage is an 1835 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac, part of the Scènes de la vie privée section of his larger work La Comédie…
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The Girl with the Golden Eyes is an 1835 novel by Honoré de Balzac. It is the third part of the Thirteen trilogy, which includes the short stories…
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Buy on Amazon1836 · Honoré de Balzac
Le Lys dans la Vallée is a 1835 novel by Honoré de Balzac that explores themes of love and society. The story focuses on the deep but unfulfilled…
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1836 · Honoré de Balzac
La Messe de l'athée is a short story by Honoré de Balzac, published in 1836. It is one of the Scènes de la vie privée within La Comédie humaine, and…
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Buy on Amazon1837 · Honoré de Balzac
Gambara is a short story by Honoré de Balzac, first published in 1837 in the Revue et gazette musicale de Paris, at the request of its editor,…
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Buy on Amazon1837 · Honoré de Balzac
Histoire de la grandeur et de la decadence de Cesar Birotteau, or Cesar Birotteau, is an 1837 novel by Honore de Balzac, one of the Scenes de la vie…
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Lost Illusions is a novel by Honore de Balzac written between 1837 and 1843, consisting of three parts that begin in provincial France, move to…
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Buy on Amazon1838 · Honoré de Balzac
La Maison Nucingen is a short story by Honoré de Balzac, published in 1837 (also cited as 1838), and is one of the Scènes de la vie Parisienne within…
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Buy on AmazonSplendeurs et misères des courtisanes
1838 · Honoré de Balzac
Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes is a novel by Honoré de Balzac, published in four parts between 1838 and 1847. It was translated under various…
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Buy on AmazonLes Secrets de la princesse de Cadignan
1839 · Honoré de Balzac
Les Secrets de la princesse de Cadignan is a short story written by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1839 and is part of La Comédie humaine,…
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Pierre Grassou is a short story written by French author Honoré de Balzac in 1839. It is part of the Scènes de la vie privée section of his larger…
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Buy on Amazon1839 · Honoré de Balzac
Béatrix is an 1839 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac, who lived from 1799 to 1850. The novel is part of Balzac's larger work, La Comédie…
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Buy on Amazon1841 · Honoré de Balzac
La Fausse Maîtresse is an 1843 novel by Honoré de Balzac, part of his larger work La Comédie humaine, which offers a portrayal of French society…
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Le Curé de village is a novel by Honoré de Balzac that first appeared in La Presse in 1839. It was later revised and published as a separate volume…
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Buy on AmazonMémoires de deux jeunes mariées
1841 · Honoré de Balzac
Mémoires de deux jeunes mariées is an epistolary novel by Honoré de Balzac. It was first serialized in the French newspaper La Presse in 1841 and…
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Une ténébreuse affaire is a novel by Honoré de Balzac, published in 1841. It was first released in serial form in the newspaper Le Journal du…
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Buy on Amazon1842 · Honoré de Balzac
Un début dans la vie is a novel by the French writer Honoré de Balzac. It is the sixth of the Scènes de la vie privée in La Comédie humaine. The work…
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Ursule Mirouët is a novel belonging to Honoré de Balzac's series of 94 novels and short stories, La Comédie humaine. First published in 1841, it…
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Albert Savarus is an 1842 novel by Honoré de Balzac, a French novelist and playwright. It is part of his larger series La Comédie humaine, which…
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An Episode Under the Terror (Un épisode sous la Terreur) is a short story by Honoré de Balzac, published in 1830. Originally titled Une messe en…
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Buy on Amazon1843 · Honoré de Balzac
Honorine is an 1843 novel by Honoré de Balzac, part of his larger work La Comédie humaine, which portrays French society during the Restoration and…
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Buy on Amazon1844 · Honoré de Balzac
Gaudissart II is a short story by Honoré de Balzac, published in 1844. It is part of Scènes de la vie parisienne, a section of La Comédie humaine.…
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1844 · Honoré de Balzac
Un homme d'affaires is a short story by Honoré de Balzac. It was published in 1845 and is one of the Scènes de la vie Parisienne of La Comédie…
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Buy on Amazon1844 · Honoré de Balzac
Modeste Mignon is an 1844 novel by the French writer Honoré de Balzac. It is the fifth of the Scènes de la vie privée within La Comédie humaine.…
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Buy on Amazon1846 · Honoré de Balzac
Jésus-Christ en Flandre is a short story by Honoré de Balzac, published in 1831. It is part of Balzac's Études philosophiques, a section of his…
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Buy on Amazon1846 · Honoré de Balzac
L'Élixir de longue vie is a short story by Honoré de Balzac, published in 1830. It is one of the Études philosophiques within La Comédie humaine.…
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Buy on Amazon1846 · Honoré de Balzac
La Cousine Bette is an 1847 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac. Set in mid-19th-century Paris, it follows an unmarried middle-aged woman who…
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1847 · Honoré de Balzac
Le Cousin Pons is part of Honoré de Balzac’s Comédie humaine, one of the last 94 novels and short stories he wrote. It was initially started in 1846…
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1970
Finance, fashionable society, and the intrigues of the underworld and the police system form the heart of this powerful novel, which introduces the…
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Buy on Amazon1975
Passionate and perceptive, the three short novels that make up Balzac's History of the Thirteen are concerned in part with the activities of a rich,…
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1976
Handsome would-be poet Lucien Chardon is poor and naïve, but highly ambitious. Failing to make his name in his dull provincial hometown, he is taken…
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Buy on Amazon1976
His elegantly-crafted tale of sibling rivalry, Honoré de Balzac's The Black Sheep is translated from the French with an introduction by Donald…
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Buy on Amazon2011
Monsieur Goriot is one of a disparate group of lodgers at Mademe Vauquer's dingy Parisian boarding house. At first his wealth inspires respect, but…
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Companion & related books
Related titles and editions that sit outside the main numbered order.
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Buy on AmazonYear unknown · Honoré de Balzac
"Facino Cane" is an 1836 short story by French author Honoré de Balzac. It was first published in the Chronique de Paris on March 17, 1836. Balzac…
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Year unknown
Un épisode sous la Terreur is a short story by Honoré de Balzac, published in 1830. It was originally titled Une messe en 1793 but received its final…
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Frequently asked questions
What order should I read the The Human Comedy books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with “Les Chouans”. Start with “Les Chouans.”
How many books are in the The Human Comedy series?
We list 69 books by Honoré de Balzac , published between 1829–2011.
Where can I buy the The Human Comedy books?
Each title above links to Amazon. See our affiliate disclosure.
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Reading order compiled from author/publisher guidance and verified bibliographic data. Spotted a wrong order, a missing book, or any other mistake? and we'll correct it.