EPISODE 23: Honoré de Balzac, ”Cousin Pons” (1848), Part One

2024-01-18

Chapters 1-7: 0:00—A glorious relic. 4:02—The aging artist. 6:44—A taste for antiquities. 10:15—Gourmand syndrome. 12:24—Good taste. 16:37—Such a Schmucke. 18:36—Bette & Valerie vs. Pons & Schmucke. 21:40—Connoisseurship. 27:37—Family & food. 31:28—Dinner at the Camusots. 34:20—Gastric nostalgia. 38:17—Interlude. Chapters 8-11: 38:40—Frankfurt-am-Main. 39:40—A wicked stepmother. 41:52—Fritz & Werther. 42:54: Rich Fritz. 43:38—Salad days. 47:18—Pons’s proposal. 49:06—Pons’s paintings. 52:00—Pons the killer. 55:00—Pons the monster. 58:31—Pon...

Chapters 1-7: 0:00—A glorious relic. 4:02—The aging artist. 6:44—A taste for antiquities. 10:15—Gourmand syndrome. 12:24—Good taste. 16:37—Such a Schmucke. 18:36—Bette & Valerie vs. Pons & Schmucke. 21:40—Connoisseurship. 27:37—Family & food. 31:28—Dinner at the Camusots. 34:20—Gastric nostalgia. 38:17—Interlude.

Chapters 8-11: 38:40—Frankfurt-am-Main. 39:40—A wicked stepmother. 41:52—Fritz & Werther. 42:54: Rich Fritz. 43:38—Salad days. 47:18—Pons’s proposal. 49:06—Pons’s paintings. 52:00—Pons the killer. 55:00—Pons the monster. 58:31—Pons the pariah. 59:43: Dr. Poulain. 1:01:35—The tale end.

Text: Honoré de Balzac, Cousin Pons. Translated by Herbert J. Hunt, Penguin, 1968.

Interludes: Beethoven, Symphony #2 (1802), performed by the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bruno Walter, 1959.

Illustration: Honoré de Balzac, by David d'Angiers (aka Jean Pierre David), 1843.

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