BALZAC, Honoré de.

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Le Lys dans la vallée. First edition. This story of unrequited love, partly mirroring Balzac's own relationship with Laure de Berny, became the object of a highly publicized literary-legal controversy, which boosted its commercial success. Balzac wrote the novel over the course of several years, inspired by Sainte-Beuve's earlier romance Volupté. The first part was published in the Revue de Paris on 22 November 1835. The journal's editor, François Buloz, owned the rights to Balzac's novels, which were to be published in that journal only. In December, Balzac found out that his uncorrected proofs had been sold by Buloz to the owners of the Revue étrangère of St Petersburg, without his consent, and that the Russian journal had published them in October. Balzac sued Buloz and refused to send him the second part of the novel. "Given whom and what was involved, the legal controversy found its way into the press. Buloz used his power, influence, and publications to attack Balzac viciously. Alexandre Dumas and other writers - fearful of the publisher's power - lined up with Buloz; Victor Hugo and George Sand with Balzac... In the end, the court ruled for Balzac" (Kornstein, p. 91). The complete novel was published in these two volumes by Werdet on 1 June 1836. An account of the trial by Balzac features as a second introduction in the first volume and was not reprinted in the following editions.Le Lys dans la vallée is the last of four romances in Balzac's Scènes de la vie de campagn

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