Honoré de Balzac books in order
French novelist and playwright
- Lived
- 1799–1850
- Country
- France
- Books
- 88
- Series
- 2
- Also writes as
- Horace de Saint-Aubin, Lord R’Hoone, Saint Aubin, Viellerglé
Honoré de Balzac published 63 novels, 19 novellas, 2 short story collections and 4 other books, beginning with Eugénie Grandet (1833). The 2 series include The Human Comedy (61 books, starting with Colonel Chabert) and Scenes from Provincial Life (5 books, starting with Pierrette). The best-known is Père Goriot (1835).
Updated September 2026
The Human Comedy books in order (61)Series page
Reading order: 1 Colonel Chabert (1829) · 2 Les Chouans (1829) · 3 Physiology of Marriage (1829) · 4 Adieu (1830) · 5 El Verdugo (1830) · 6 Gobseck (1830) · 7 La Paix Du Ménage (1830) · 8 La Vendetta (1830) · 9 Le Bal De Sceaux (1830) · 10 Une Double Famille (1830) · … all 61 below
- 1.
Colonel Chabert (1829)
- 2.
Les Chouans (1829)
- 3.
Physiology of Marriage (1829)
- 4.
Adieu (1830)
- 5.
El Verdugo (1830)
- 6.
Gobseck (1830)
- 7.
La Paix Du Ménage (1830)
- 8.
La Vendetta (1830)
- 9.
Le Bal De Sceaux (1830)
- 10.
Une Double Famille (1830)
- 11.
L'Auberge Rouge (1831)
- 12.
La Peau De Chagrin (1831)
- 13.
Les Proscrits (1831)
- 14.
Maître Cornélius (1831)
- 15.
The Conscript (1831)
- 16.
Z. Marcas (1831)
- 17.
La Bourse (1832)
- 18.
La Duchesse De Langeais (1832)
- 19.
Louis Lambert (1832)
- 20.
Madame Firmiani (1832)
- 21.
Eugénie Grandet (1833)
- 22.
The Country Doctor (1833)
- 23.
The Thirteen (1833)
- 24.
- 25.
Séraphîta (1834)
- 26.
The Quest of the Absolute (1834)
- 27.
Un Drame Au Bord De La Mer (1834)
- 28.
Le Contrat De Mariage (1835)
- 29.
Melmoth (1835)
- 30.
- 31.
Père Goriot (Mar 1835)
- 32.
The Lily of the Valley (1836)
- 33.
César Birotteau (1837)
- 34.
Gambara (1837)
- 35.
Illusions Perdues (1837)
- 36.
Massimilla Doni (1837)
- 37.
Splendeurs Et Misères Des Courtisanes (1838)
- 38.
Une Fille D'Ève (1838)
- 39.
Béatrix (1839)
- 40.
Les Secrets De La Princesse De Cadignan (1839)
- 41.
Pierre Grassou (1839)
- 42.
La Fausse Maîtresse (1841)
- 43.
Le Curé De Village (1841)
- 44.
Mémoires De Deux Jeunes Mariées (1841)
- 45.
Une Ténébreuse Affaire (1841)
- 46.
Albert Savarus (1842)
- 47.
Another Study of a Woman (1842)
- 48.
La Femme De Trente Ans (1842)
- 49.
Un Début Dans La Vie (1842)
- 50.
Ursule Mirouët (1842)
- 51.
Honorine (1843)
- 52.
Gaudissart II (1844)
- 53.
Modeste Mignon (1844)
- 54.
Cousin Bette (1846)
- 55.
Jésus-Christ En Flandre (1846)
- 56.
L'Elixir De Longue Vie (1846)
- 57.
Les Comédiens Sans Le Savoir (1846)
- 58.
Little Miseries of Conjugal Life (1846)
- 59.
Le Cousin Pons (1847)
- 60.
Les Paysans (1855)
- 61.
Les Petits Bourgeois (1855)
Scenes from Provincial Life books in order (5)Series page
Reading order: 3 Pierrette (1840) · 5 La Rabouilleuse (1843) · 6 L'illustre Gaudissart (1833) · 8 La Vieille Fille (1837) · 9 Le Cabinet Des Antiques (1839)
- 3.
Pierrette (1840)
- 5.
La Rabouilleuse (1843)
- 6.
L'illustre Gaudissart (1833)
- 8.
La Vieille Fille (1837)
- 9.
Le Cabinet Des Antiques (1839)
Where to start with Honoré de Balzac
Start here
Colonel Chabert
Book 1 of The Human Comedy, the series that includes Père Goriot, Honoré de Balzac's most-read book.
Standalone novels in order
Les Cent Contes Drolatiques (1832)
La Comédie Humaine (1837)
L'Interdiction (1839)
Letters of Two Brides (1842)
The Magic Skin (1889)
Sons of the Soil (1890)
The Chouans (1890)
Cousin Betty (1896)
History of the Thirteen (1896)
About Catherine De' Medici (1897)
The Novels of Balzac (1897)
Catherine De Medici (1899)
Old Man Goriot (2011)
Novellas in order
La Maison Du Chat-qui-pelote (1829)
Le Curé De Tours (1832)
The Unknown Masterpiece = (1899)
Short story collections in order
The Human Comedy (1830)
Droll Stories (1855)
Other books in order
Mercadet (1851)
Alchemist (1890)
The Marriage Contract (1895)
Film and TV adaptations
- Man Without a Name (1932)Film · from Colonel Chabert
- Colonel Chabert (1943)Film · from Colonel Chabert
- Colonel Chabert (1994)Film · from Colonel Chabert
- The Royalists (1947)Film · from Les Chouans
- Chouans! (1988)Film · from Les Chouans
- Gobseck (1936)Film · from Gobseck
- L'Auberge rouge (1923)Film · from L'Auberge Rouge
- The Skin of Sorrow (2010)TV · from La Peau De Chagrin
- The Eternal Flame (1922)Film · from La Duchesse De Langeais
- Love (1927)Film · from La Duchesse De Langeais
- The Duchess of Langeais (1942)Film · from La Duchesse De Langeais
- The Duchess of Langeais (2006)Film · from La Duchesse De Langeais
- The Brazen Women of Balzac (1967)Film · from Les Cent Contes Drolatiques
- The Conquering Power (1921)Film · from Eugénie Grandet
- Eugenia Grandet (1947)Film · from Eugénie Grandet
- Eugénie Grandet (1994)TV · from Eugénie Grandet
- The Thirteenth Man (1917)Film · from The Thirteen
- Ferragus (1923)Film · from Ferragus: Chief of the Devorants
- L'Homme du large (1920)Film · from Un Drame Au Bord De La Mer
- Père Goriot (1915)Film · from Père Goriot
- Paris at Midnight (1926)Film · from Père Goriot
- The Girl with the Golden Eyes (1961)Film · from The Girl with the Golden Eyes
- Lost Illusions (2021)Film · from Illusions Perdues
- La fausse maîtresse (1942)Film · from La Fausse Maîtresse
- Albert Savarus (1993)TV · from Albert Savarus
- The Opportunists (1960)Film · from La Rabouilleuse
- La marâtre (1906)Film · from Cousin Bette
- Cousin Bette (1927)Film · from Cousin Bette
- Cousin Bette (1998)Film · from Cousin Bette
Free to read
All free classicsAt the Sign of the Cat and Racket
Father Goriot
The Works of Balzac
Sarrasine
Lost Illusions
Droll Stories — Complete
A Distinguished Provincial at Paris
The Physiology of Marriage, Complete
Farewell
Letters to Madame Hanska, born Countess Rzewuska, afterwards Madame Honoré de Balzac, 1833-1846
The Lesser Bourgeoisie
The Duchesse of Langeais
Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau
Cousin Pons
About Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence La Comédie humaine, described as a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is generally viewed as his magnum opus.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Honoré de Balzac FAQ
- How many books has Honoré de Balzac written?
- Honoré de Balzac published 63 novels, 19 novellas, 2 short story collections and 4 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Honoré de Balzac's books in?
- Read each series in its own order: start The Human Comedy with Colonel Chabert and Scenes from Provincial Life with Pierrette. The other books stand alone and can be read in any order.
- What is Honoré de Balzac's last book?
- Le Cousin Pons (1847).
- What is Honoré de Balzac's most famous book?
- Père Goriot (1835) is Honoré de Balzac's most widely read book.
- Are Honoré de Balzac's books connected?
- 66 books belong to 2 series (The Human Comedy and Scenes from Provincial Life); the other 22 books stand alone.
- Does Honoré de Balzac write under a pen name?
- Yes: Honoré de Balzac has also published as Horace de Saint-Aubin, Lord R’Hoone, Saint Aubin and Viellerglé.
- Which Honoré de Balzac books have been adapted?
- 18 books have been adapted for film or TV, including Colonel Chabert (as Man Without a Name, film, 1932), Les Chouans (as The Royalists, film, 1947), Gobseck (film, 1936) and L'Auberge Rouge (film, 1923).
- Can I read Honoré de Balzac's books for free?
- Yes. 39 books by Honoré de Balzac are in the public domain in the US and free to read online or download here.
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Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.