Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau

Honore de Balzac lived most of his life one step from his creditors; his house in Paris even had a special exit for avoiding them. No one knew more about money problems than Balzac, & this is his subject in Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau--one of Balzac's greatest novels.

It's the story of Cesar Birotteau, an honest perfumer who's lured into overextending himself. This luring is the work of the unsavory du Tillet, an employee Birotteau fired for embezzlement. The Embezzler works in secret to take revenge. Take it he does: Birotteau falls hard. But all is not lost--not yet. Anselme Popinot, a brilliant young marketer in love with Birotteau's daughter, works to help Birotteau recover. Perhaps together they can recover Birotteau's honor. Perhaps.