Treatise on Elegant Living (Wakefield Handbooks)

Very disappointing rehash of the prejudices of an English dandy. Omitted are the interesting ideas of Balzac, particularly relating to cigars

An encouraging recent phenomenon is the emergence of independent small publishers producing new editions of long-dead authors, often newly translated. The Wakefield Press is among the smallest and perhaps newest of such publishers. If 'Treatise on Elegant Living' is typical of their output, they are among the most admirable too. There appears to be no other translation of this typically ebullient but atypically brief work by Balzac at all, so the world is indebted to this tiny house. Napoleon Jeffries (nom de plume?) has made a near-perfect translation of this essential book, often overlooked among Balzac's huge oeuvre, in an urbane yet idiomatic English. It was written at Balzac's normal frantic speed with his normal titanic gusto in late 1830 and published in the Paris fashion magazine La Mode. Brimming with outrageous aphorisms - 'The man accustomed to work cannot understand elegant living,' 'Luxury is less expensive than elegance' 'Negligence of clothing is moral suicide' - the Treatise is no minor work but a miniature masterpiece, vital reading for the aspiring dandy and every lover of Balzac. The book is not cheap for its size but, with a perceptive introduction, useful notes and fine appearance, it is worth every penny.

A+