Cousin Betty

"Cousin Betty" by Honoré de Balzac is a story about two families in Paris during the 1800s. It's mostly about Baron Hulot, his wife, and their cousin Betty, who is very jealous of them. The book shows how important things like being rich, having a good reputation, and family can be, but also how people can betray each other to get what they want. At the start, the Baron comes home, and you can tell things aren't going well for him or the family. His wife is dealing with his cheating and how bad he is with money, which is making their family's situation risky. The story builds as they deal with these issues, and we see other important people like Monsieur Crevel. Betty is a central figure, full of jealousy, and is unhappy because her cousins seem to have everything she wishes for, hinting at the problems that will come.