Le Père Goriot is an 1835 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac, included in the Scènes de la vie privée section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine. Set in Paris in 1819, it follows the intertwined lives of three characters: the elderly doting Goriot; a mysterious criminal-in-hiding named Vautrin; and a naive law student named Eugène de Rastignac. Originally published in serial form during the winter of 1834–35, Le Père Goriot is widely considered as Balzac's most important novel. It marks the first serious use by the author of characters who had appeared in other books, a technique that distinguishes Balzac's fiction and makes La Comédie humaine unique among bodies of work. The novel is also noted as an example of his realist style, using minute details to create character and subtext. The novel takes place during the Bourbon Restoration, which brought about profound changes in French society; the struggle of individuals to secure upper-class status is ubiquitous in the book. The novel was released to mixed reviews. Some critics praised the author for his complex characters and attention to detail; others condemned him for his many depictions of corruption and greed. A favorite of Balzac's, the book quickly won widespread popularity and has often been adapted for film and the stage.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1820:

Primarily due to its vulnerability to foreign invasions, the exclave of Massachusetts known as Maine was given its own U.S. statehood. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Maine%23The_American_Revolution%2C_the_War_of_1812%2C_and_Maine_in_the_middle

1877:

Cricketers representing England and Australia began the first match in Test cricket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Test_cricket_from_1877_to_1883%23The_first_Test

1906:

Charles Rolls and Henry Royce founded the British automobile manufacturing company Rolls-Royce. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Limited

1943:

World War II: German forces recaptured Kharkov after four days of house-to-house fighting against Soviet troops, ending the month-long Third Battle of Kharkov . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Kharkov

1972:

The Godfather, a gangster film based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, was released. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfather

1985:

The company Symbolics became the first ever entity, individual or party to register a .com top-level domain name: symbolics.com. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.com

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

misanthropic (adj): Hating or disliking mankind http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/misanthropic

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in. --Andrew Jackson http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andrew_Jackson