The monumental and unparalleled fictionalized biography of Honoré de Balzac – a volcanic talent, a savage libertine and one of the greatest literary figures of all time.
This is Balzac’s incredible life story, from cradle-to-grave, from obscurity to fame, set against the dramatic, vividly-portrayed backdrop of 19th century France, shared from the point of view of the people closest to him.
“This book is big in every way and readers of romance, history and biography will all find this a heady literary drink, truly a wine of life.” Pensacola News-Journal
“Gorham has written a splendid and sensitive book that places him in the upper echelons of American authors. In Wine of Life, he does not merely write about Balzac. He is Balzac.” Jackson Sun
“This is a lusty, robust, mammoth novel. Gorham has done a superb job.” Montgomery Advertiser
“It’s certain to be acclaimed as one of the best biographies of this and many other years.” Quad-City Times
“Seven hundred pages, it is, though it will not seem tortuous. Indeed, the volume may get heavy only because readers will find it hard to put down.” Newport Daily Press
“A vigorous story as lusty as the man himself. Unforgettable. ” Meriden Record-Journal
“The author of the Comedie Humaine, that immense examination of 19th century French society, deserves a big book on his life and in Wine of Life, he gets it.” Oakland Tribune
“Gorham has produced a book which has the bounce and bitterness, the zeal and despair, of its subject.” Chicago Tribune
“Gorham has wrestled with this complex giant and won.” Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“What a story! Writing on a grand scale about a man who lived on a grand scale. Gorham has succeeded in re-creating the artist and the man – his peculiar working habits and his voracious appetite of women, food and clothes.” Virginia Pilot
Charles Gorham /
Historical, Literary Fiction
