Cousin Bette
by Honoré de Balzacliterary work· published 1846
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La Cousine Bette (French pronunciation: [la kuzin bɛt], Cousin Bette) is an 1847 novel by French author Honoré de Balzac. Set in mid-19th-century Paris, it tells the story of an unmarried middle-aged woman who plots the destruction of her extended family. Bette works with Valérie Marneffe, an unhappily married young lady, to seduce and torment a series of men. One of these is Baron Hector Hulot, husband to Bette's cousin Adeline. He sacrifices his family's fortune and good name to please Valérie, who leaves him for a well-off merchant named Crevel. The book is part of the Scènes de la vie parisienne section of Balzac's novel sequence La Comédie humaine ("The Human Comedy").
Adaptations (1)
Cousin Bette was adapted into a 1998 film.
