Iluzii pierdute Vol. 1

Lucien Chardon seeks love, fame as a writer and higher rank. The young poet comes from Angoulême. He has good looks, talent and wide reading. He falls for Madame de Bargeton, an older local noblewoman. She loves the arts but finds life outside Paris too rough. They leave together for Paris, where Lucien hopes to gain fame. He seeks a place among the city's writers and journalists. But life among the city's elite brings schemes and social demands. These put both his love and his ideals at risk.

This classic novel by Honore de Balzac looks at French society. It takes place in the early nineteenth century. It follows Lucien and his friend David Séchard, a printer. Both start with love and high hopes for the future. Their lives take different turns, but their paths keep crossing. Their friendship ties the story's themes of rank, ambition and lost hopes together.

This is the first volume in the Mari clasici ai literaturii series.