The Black Sheep

Honoré de Balzac · 1799–1850 · France

Originally La Rabouilleuse (French)

Why it matters

Two brothers, one a gifted wastrel and one a plodding provincial, circle their dying uncle's fortune while the peasant girl who controls his household plays them against each other: Balzac's cruelest inheritance plot, with barely a decent character in sight.

At a glance

Wide provincial cast and interlocking financial schemes require sustained tracking.