Balzac's masterpieces in cinematic audio plays: bankers, gamblers, courtesans - greed, intrigue, bankruptcy. Few have portrayed the society of the 19th century in France with such keen insight and foresight as Honoré de Balzac. Father Goriot, exploited as a pasta manufacturer, dies impoverished and alone. Eugénie Grandet, who painfully learns the significance of wealth and power in matters of love. Lucien, who experiences the rise and fall in a fickle and calculating society in "Lost Illusions." And finally, Cousin Lisbeth, who socially annihilates her adversary through intrigue and erotic machinations. Facets of human existence - staged in cinematic audio plays. Featuring the voices of Gerd Wameling, Felix von Manteuffel, Hans-Michael Rehberg, Jens Harzer, Friedhelm P.