In Balzac's classic study of obsession, a chance meeting changes Balthazar Claes' life as it introduces him to alchemy and initiates his quest of the absolute. Throughout, our sympathy is equally divided between Balthazar's single-minded determination to push back the frontiers of knowledge, and the ruin of his family. "The Quest Of The Absolute" Was first published in France in 1834 and appears in a new edition from Dedalus, translated by Ellen Marriage and with an afterword and chronology by Christopher Smith.

The Bohemians of the Latin Quarter Henri Murger. Translated by Ellen Marriage and John Selwyn. Introduction by Maurice Samuels "Today, as of old, every man who enters on an artistic career, without any other means of livelihood than his art itself, will be forced to walk in the paths of Bohemia."--from the Preface Based largely upon Henri Murger's own experiences and those of his fellow artists, "The Bohemians of the Latin Quarter" was originally produced as a play in 1849 and first appeared in book form in 1851. It was an immediate sensation. The novel consists of a series of interrelated episodes in the lives of a group of poor friends--a musician, a poet, a philosopher, a sculptor, and a painter--who attempt to maintain their artistic ideals while struggling for food, shelter, and sex. Set in the ancient Latin Quarter, a vibrant and cosmopolitan area near the University of Paris, the novel is a masterful portrait of nineteenth-century Parisian artistic life. "Bohemian" soon became synonymous with "artist," and it is from Murger's novel that the word and concept entered the English language. Drawn from real-life characters and events, the themes of love, sacrifice, and "selling out" are immediately recognizable to the modern reader. Capturing the heart, spirit, and bittersweet humor of the world of struggling artists, "The Bohemians of the Latin Quarter" is the universal story of one's attempt to leave a mark on the world. Henri Murger (1822-1861) wrote for magazines and newspapers and authored several books of fiction but is remembered today only for this novel of artistic life in nineteenth-century Paris. 2004 432 pages 4 1/4 x 6 3/4 ISBN 978-0-8122-1884-8 Paper $29.95s 19.50 ISBN 978-0-8122-0095-9 Ebook $29.95s 19.50 World Rights Fiction, Literature, Cultural Studies Short copy: Known chiefly as the basis for Puccini's great opera "La Boheme," and resurrected more recently as the musical "Rent," "The Bohemians of the Latin Quarter" is one of the most culturally influential French novels of the nineteenth century.