With the text on the front flap stating that, "There has never been an accurate, comprehensive account of the origin, development, and significance of Balzac's use of recurring characters in the many volumes of the 'Comedie humaine,'" the author herein "traces the use of the device and unravels its complexities over the whole of Balzac's career by providing a year-by-year account of the author's struggles beween 1829 and 1847 to unify his fictional world of some 3,000 characters," and "illuminates the genesis of several novels and sheds totally new light on the validity of the device, by enabling us for the first time to distinguish between examples which belong to the original creative urge, and those introducted during later revisions." An impressive piece of work, and of more than passing interest to the Balzac student. Black cloth w/silver spine lettering, 510 pgs. (including conclusion, appendix A: bibliography; Appendix B: index of works by Balzac discussed; and appendix C: index of recurring characters). A hint of general wear. Price-clipped laminated dust jacket w/pencil initial to inside front flap, faint pencil scribble around it.