The Country Doctor
by Honoré de Balzac
Scenes from Country Life (2), The Human Comedy (Études de Moeurs - Scènes de la vie militaire et de campagne | 59), Studies of Manners (64)
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Part of the massive series that some regard as one of the masterworks of nineteenth-century realism, Honore de Balzac's The Human Comedy, the novel The Country Doctor focuses on Dr. Benassis, a physician by trade, who has deep-seated beliefs about social equality. While treating a prominent patient, Benassis expounds at length on his value system and discusses some of the reforms that he has helped to implement in the town..
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This novel is one of Balzac's best "Scenes from Country Life"--part of his great Human Comedy. Dr. Benassis is the hero of the tale, a rural doctor who treats the wounds of a Bonapartist soldier named Capt. Bluteau. Compared to most of Balzac's complex character studies, this simple refreshing story portrays a person who was more like a vicar to his fellow villagers--treating all their ills without demanding payment, teaching them new and better methods of farming and husbandry and enhancing the prosperity of all. He has a cook named Jacquotte who is his greatest critic and adviser, utterly devoted to him and indeed one of Balzac's most memorable characters.
..."this life of obscure renunciation",, 29 March 2015
This review is from: The Country Doctor (Kindle Edition)
Somewhere between *3 and *4 for this rather untypical Balzac novel (at least for the first 200 pages.)
The tale is set in the mountains near Grenoble, where, in 1829, a captain from the Napoleonic campaigns has come to seek out a local doctor for medical assistance. As the two strike up a friendship, the doctor (who is also mayor) talks at length on the changes he has wrought to the failing local economy. At dinner with local dignitaries, the topics move on to politics and religion; and in conversations with local old soldiers, there is quite a bit on Napoleon, who is still seen as a great hero.
It's not till the last 80 pages or show more so that our two characters start to reveal more of themselves: what has prompted the doctor to devote his life to the good of these people? Why is the captain operating under a pseudonym? ....
Although I found the diatribes a bit monotonous at times, the resumption of the novel later on was good enough to compensate (and the bit on Napoleon was quite interesting.) Excellent translation by Ellen Marriage. show less
This review is from: The Country Doctor (Kindle Edition)
Somewhere between *3 and *4 for this rather untypical Balzac novel (at least for the first 200 pages.)
The tale is set in the mountains near Grenoble, where, in 1829, a captain from the Napoleonic campaigns has come to seek out a local doctor for medical assistance. As the two strike up a friendship, the doctor (who is also mayor) talks at length on the changes he has wrought to the failing local economy. At dinner with local dignitaries, the topics move on to politics and religion; and in conversations with local old soldiers, there is quite a bit on Napoleon, who is still seen as a great hero.
It's not till the last 80 pages or show more so that our two characters start to reveal more of themselves: what has prompted the doctor to devote his life to the good of these people? Why is the captain operating under a pseudonym? ....
Although I found the diatribes a bit monotonous at times, the resumption of the novel later on was good enough to compensate (and the bit on Napoleon was quite interesting.) Excellent translation by Ellen Marriage. show less
8474613175
AG-1
Sep 11, 2020Catalan
Après une jeunesse orageuse, le docteur Bénassis s'est retiré dans un canton perdu du Dauphiné, où il se dévoué auprès dés humbles avec toute son intelligence et tout son cœur — Il reçoit la visite d'un ami, lé commandant Genestas, ancien officier 'de l'Empire, à qui il fait visiter lé pays en lui commentant son œuvre.
Aug 14, 2010French
Édition de la Bibliothèque Verte (Hachette), 1947.
Jul 17, 2022Spanish
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Best medical fiction
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Author Information
Born on May 20, 1799, Honore de Balzac is considered one of the greatest French writers of all time. Balzac studied in Paris and worked as a law clerk while pursuing an unsuccessful career as an author. He soon accumulated enormous debts that haunted him most of his life. A prolific writer, Balzac would often write for 14 to-16 hours at a time. show more His writing is marked by realistic portrayals of ordinary, but exaggerated characters and intricate detail. In 1834, Balzac began organizing his works into a collection called The Human Comedy, an attempt to group his novels to present a complete social history of France. Characters in this project reappeared throughout various volumes, which ultimately consisted of approximately 90 works. Some of his works include Cesar Birotteau, Le Cousin Pons, Seraphita, and Le Cousine Bette. Balzac wed his lifelong love, Eveline Hanska in March 1850 although he was gravely ill at the time. Balzac died in August of that year. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Series
Scenes from Country Life
4 works (2)
The Human Comedy
86 works (Études de Moeurs - Scènes de la vie militaire et de campagne | 59)
Studies of Manners
60 works (64)
Belongs to Publisher Series
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Le Médecin de campagne
- Original title
- Le Médecin de campagne
- Original publication date
- 1833
- People/Characters
- Dr Benassis; Commander Pierre Joseph Genestas (aka Captain Bluteau); La Fosseuse
- Important places
- Grenoble, Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France (countryside near)
- Important events
- Napoleonic Wars
- Epigraph
- For a wounded heart - shadow and silence.
- Dedication
- To my Mother
- First words
- On a lovely spring morning in the year 1829, a man of fifty or thereabouts was wending his way on horseback along the mountain road that leads to a large village near the Grande Chartreuse.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"As soon as I have my pension", he said, "I will come to finish my days here among you."
- Original language*
- Französisch
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- Members
- 320
- Popularity
- 99,655
- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (3.43)
- Languages
- 9 — English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 65
- ASINs
- 31
