Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau

One of the unifying themes that wends its way through Honore de Balzac's immense body of work is the corrupting danger of greed -- and the often-absurd lengths to which people will go to secure material wealth. In the wonderful novel Rise and Fall of Cesar Birotteau, the title character starts out as a successful perfume-maker who is gradually lured to the dark side by the promise of ill-gotten gains.