Like Cousin Bette, this is part of the large group of novels in Balzac's The Human Comedy. Lucien Chardon has some talent and wants to make it big in Paris. So he leaves the provinces, with Mme de Bargeton (a leading light in the provincial town), who quickly dumps him. Chardon falls in with a group of hard-working artistic types, but leaves them behind to pursue tabloid journalism.Chardon's sister (Eve) marries David Sechard, who was always in trouble at the hands of his scheming competitors in the printing business, the Cointet brothers. Funny passages about David's skinflint father.
Balzac see us - and can write about it - so always worthwhile. He was around the printing business and also was an attorney, so gives lots of detail in both fields. He clearly looked down on the journalists. If his version is accurate, there wasn't much of what we think of as "journalistic ethics." (Not that this would distinguish all that much from today's environment.) Interesting to read about how favorable press notices for plays or books were bought and sold.
Lucien Chardon reminded me a bit of Julian Sorel.
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