Honoré de Balzac

Honoré de Balzac was an intelligent child who loved to read, though he had trouble adapting to school. After graduating from the University of Paris, Balzac worked as an apprentice in a law office, but quickly grew weary with this work. Other careers Balzac attempted and ultimately failed at include printer, publisher, businessman, politician, and critic. Balzac finally found success with his literary efforts, particularly with his magnum opus, La Comédie humaine, a collection of short stories and novels that documented his own failures, among other topics. Balzac also wrote several plays. Suffering from health problems, possibly related to his extreme writing habits, Balzac died at 51.