15 FEBRUARY 1930, Page 20

. , . Balzac, the bridge-builder between Romanticism and Realism,

_and- the forerunner_ of Flaubert, Maupassant 'and Zola; is stated by his lateit biOgrapher, Mr. Francis

to have had only two desires in life : to be famOus and to be loved. But he' died before his fame was, acknowledged, and he was married to a woman who neglected hini While alive and forgot him when dead. In Balzac, the Man and Lover (Nash and Grayson, 21s.) Mr. 'Gribble tells the story

of this amazing man, with a good deal of humour and tact.

. _

The luncheon between the two literary lions of France, for instance (Victor Hugo and Balzac), is "excellentlydone'; and the whole book is very readable, if slight;