A Distinguished Provincial At Paris (Honoré De Balzac)

Printed in 1900, I picked up this copy of A Distinguished Provincial At Paris, from a used bookstore for $7. It's volume 9 of a 25 volume set. The novel tells the story of Lucien who has run away to Paris with his lover. Quickly, he and his love interest, Mme. de Bargeton, become disenchanted with each other and separate. Lucien, a poet, sets out to gain fame and fortune through his writing. He tries in vain to sell a novel and some poetry, but eventually finds himself writing for newspapers and trading his honesty for francs and fine clothes to keep himself and his new mistress, Coralie, in style. 

The most interesting aspect of the book is perhaps the damning critique of journalism's ability to manipulate public opinion and to serve the interests of both writers and those with power rather than the public. More than once journalists speak of their ability to damn a good play and send the public flocking to see a bad play. Lucien himself ruins the prospects of a book which he admits is good in order to punish the publisher. The description of the journalism industry in Balzac's book seems to foreshadow our modern day rag sheets and super market tabloids.