The Lily of the Valley

by Honoré de Balzac

"The Lily of the Valley" by Honoré de Balzac is a novel published in 1835. Set during France's Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy, it tells the story of an emotionally intense but never physically consummated love between Félix de Vandenesse and Henriette de Mortsauf. Part of Balzac's sweeping series La Comédie humaine, the novel explores themes of passion, restraint, and society while depicting French life between 1815 and 1848.