03025cam a22003493u 4500 77904 UtSlPG 20260610134815.0 m cr n 260607r20261870utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d UtSlPG fr iso639-1 PQ Balzac, Honoré de, 1799-1850 Théâtre Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg, 2026 1 online resource : multiple file formats text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Œuvres complètes de H. de Balzac - volume 19 Release date is 2026-02-10 Vautrin -- Les Ressources de Quinola -- Paméla Giraud -- La Maratre -- Le Faiseur. Claudine Corbasson, Hans Pieterse and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) "Théâtre" by Honoré de Balzac is a collection of plays written in the early 19th century. It opens with the five-act drama Vautrin, an intrigue-laden tale set in Restoration Paris. The plot brings together the formidable schemer Vautrin, the tormented Montsorel household, the mysterious suitor Raoul de Frescas, and Inès de Christoval, weaving themes of hidden parentage, ambition, and social maneuvering. The opening of the collection presents Balzac’s defiant preface about censorship and then launches into Vautrin: a cast list, the Paris 1816 setting, and a first act in which the Duchess of Montsorel believes she has found her long-lost son and confides in her aunt, while Vautrin quietly infiltrates the household through the valet Joseph. The Duchess guards a birth certificate, clashes bitterly with the Duke, and later reveals to her aunt that their acknowledged heir, Albert, is not her child. In the second act the Duke hires the operative Saint‑Charles to unmask Raoul de Frescas; the Christoval mother and daughter arrive, Raoul is pressed about his origins, refuses to answer, and the Duchess secretly urges him to disappear for his own safety, while tensions spike between Raoul and Albert. Vautrin then appears, outplays Saint‑Charles, hints that Raoul conceals a powerful father, and eludes capture. At the start of the third act, in Raoul’s rooms, Vautrin disciplines his small crew of impostors and thieves, orders absolute discretion, and reveals his grand design: he raised Raoul from a nameless boy and intends to make him rich and exalted, the linchpin of a larger scheme. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Originally published: Paris: Veuve André Houssiaux, 1870 French drama -- 19th century Œuvres complètes de H. de Balzac - volume 19 https://archive.org/details/1874oeuvrescom19balzuoft/page/n9/mode/2up https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/77904 118624 118624