Lost Illusions, Balzac’s most renowned novel, tells the tale of a young, talented, ambitious and beautiful poet, Lucien, who strives to make a name for himself in Paris, after being bored of provincial life and wishing a change in his material circumstances.Lucien, though, is naive and during the novel we see how in the end he is used and abused, paying the price for making compromises with the corruption taking place in the capital. He quickly learns that talent counts for nothing and that in order to achieve some form of status, he must prostitute himself and lose his integrity. His idealism, as a result, takes a hit and in the end he doesn’t even join the elite circles that he aspired to in the first place, as they are jealous of him. Moral corruption and betrayal are rife.In this realist novel, Balzac also depicts in great detail the workings of various trades such as journalism, publishing and printing, and how ultimately they are ruled by money and cynicism. He especially takes a swipe at journalism noting that;

“Journalism is an inferno, a bottomless pit of iniquity, falsehood and treachery: one can only pass through it and emerge from it unsullied if one is shielded as Dante was by the divine laurels of Virgil”