Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Last Fay | 1823 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 2 | The Quest Of The Absolute | 1834 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 3 | Seraphita | 1835 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 4 | Melmoth réconcilié | 1835 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 5 | Father Goriot and M. Gobseck | 1835 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 6 | La Rabouilleuse | 1842 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 7 | Illusions perdues | 1843 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 8 | Le Cousin Pons | 1847 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 9 | The Country Parson | 1841 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 10 | About Catherine de Medici | 1900 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 11 | Eugénie Grandet | 1914 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 12 | Père Goriot | 1950 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 13 | Cousin Bette | 1965 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 14 | The Black Sheep | 1976 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 15 | Lost Illusions | 1976 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 16 | The Wild Ass’s Skin | 1977 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 17 | The Unknown Masterpiece | 1983 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 18 | Old Goriot | 1987 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 19 | Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau | 1989 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 20 | The Lily of the Valley | 1989 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
| 21 | A Woman Of Thirty | 2000 | Honore de Balzac | Buy |
Honore de Balzac’s standalone novels, as listed here, represent the many English translations and editions of his major works published from the early 1900s through 2000. Several titles are different translations of the same French originals. Pere Goriot (1950) and Old Goriot (1987) both translate Le Pere Goriot, and Lost Illusions (1976) corresponds to Illusions perdues.
Among these, Eugenie Grandet, Pere Goriot, Cousin Bette, and Lost Illusions are considered essential Balzac. These books share his characteristic attention to money, ambition, social climbing, and the gap between appearance and reality in post-Napoleonic France. The multiple translations reflect the ongoing interest in Balzac among English-speaking readers, with each new edition bringing a fresh interpretation of his prose.