Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau

One of the unifying themes that wends its way through Honore de Balzac's immense body of work is the corrupting danger of greed—and the often-absurd lengths to which people will go to secure material wealth. In the wonderful novel Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau, the title character starts out as a successful perfume-maker who is gradually lured to the dark side by the promise of ill-gotten gains.