Listen and read

Step into an infinite world of stories

  • Read and listen as much as you want
  • Over 1 million titles
  • Exclusive titles + Storytel Originals
  • 7 days free trial, then €9.99/month
  • Easy to cancel anytime
Subscribe Now
Cover for Poor Relations

Poor Relations

Language
English
Format
Category

Short stories

This penetrating novel unmasks the corrosive undercurrents of family ties, envy, and class divides within Parisian high society, where beauty and status ignite simmering resentments. It launches amid a baron’s marital betrayals with a captivating singer, drawing his loyal wife into emotional turmoil while her plain cousin lurks as a bitter outsider, nursing grievances over eclipsed prospects and meagre lot. Themes of vengeful jealousy eroding kinship dominate, clashing radiant privilege against shadowed obscurity, with infidelity unravelling domestic facades and ambition fuelling moral decay. Betrayal networks expand through opportunistic alliances, probing survivals ruthlessness, loves fragility under social siege, and humankinds primal drive for dominance amid glittering facades. Balzac’s intricate web reveals how personal vendettas mirror societal hypocrisies, where wealth masks inner desolation and relational bonds fracture under unchecked desire

© 2026 Double 9 Books (Ebook): 9789378303661

Release date

Ebook: June 26, 2026

This is why you’ll love Storytel

  • Listen and read without limits

  • 800 000+ stories in 40 languages

  • Kids Mode (child-safe environment)

  • Cancel anytime

Unlimited stories, anytime

Unlimited

Listen and read as much as you want

9.99 € /month

  • Offline Mode

  • Kids Mode

  • Cancel anytime

Try now