Cousin Betty : La Comédie Humaine

La Cousine Bette is an 1846 novel by French author Honor� de Balzac. Set in mid-19th century Paris, it tells the story of an unmarried middle-aged woman who plots the destruction of her extended family. Bette works with Val�rie Marneffe, an unhappily married young lady, to seduce and torment a series of men. One of these is Baron Hector Hulot, husband to Bette's cousin Adeline. He sacrifices his family's fortune and good name to please Val�rie, who leaves him for a tradesman named Crevel.