Cousin Betty: La Comédie Humaine: La Cousine Bette

La Cousine Bette is an 1846 novel by French author Honor de Balzac. Set in mid-19th century Paris, it tells the story of an unmarried middle-aged woman who plots the destruction of her extended family. Bette works with Val rie Marneffe, an unhappily married young lady, to seduce and torment 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 Val rie, who leaves him for a tradesman named Crevel.