Father Goriot

In a shabby Parisian boarding house, young law student Eugène de Rastignac arrives burning with ambition—eager to conquer the glittering salons of high society. Instead, he finds himself drawn into the tragic orbit of an old man named Goriot, a retired noodle-maker who has sacrificed everything for his cruel, glamorous daughters. As Rastignac learns the brutal rules of the elite, he also uncovers a darker scheme: the calculating criminal Vautrin, who offers him a terrible shortcut to wealth. The closer Rastignac gets to the decadent world of the Restauds and Nucingens, the more he glimpses the ruin left in Goriot’s wake. A story of love twisted into exploitation, of innocence tested by cynicism, this faithful modern retelling keeps the heart of Balzac’s masterpiece beating in clear, present-day language. Part of Timeless Classics.