Cousin Betty

Cousin Betty is an unmarried middle-aged woman who plots the destruction of her extended family. Together with Valérie Marneffe, an unhappily married young lady, she seduces and torments a series of men. One of these is Baron Hector Hulot, husband to Bette's cousin Adeline. He sacrifices his family's fortune and good name to please Valérie, who leaves him for a tradesman named Crevel. The book is part of the Scènes de la vie parisienne section of Balzac's novel sequence La Comédie humaine ("The Human Comedy"). Published in 1846/1847 in serial format, Cousin Betty is considered to be Balzac's last great novel.