This is the first English biography of Balzac for over fifty years. Robb follows Balzac's early literary disappointments and his relentless struggle against debts; shows how he developed his notorious powers of hard work and concentration in his early twenties by churning out a factory line of cheap, melodramatic novels. His desire for literary success and wealth led to a variety of entrepreneurial schemes and his private life became a series of public misadventures. Robb skilfully interweaves the life with the work to paint an indelible and important portrait of the one of the most influential figures of nineteenth French century literature.