Father Goriot by Honore De Balzac. Translated by Ellen Marriage. Le P re Goriot is an 1835 novel by French novelist and playwright Honor de Balzac (1799-1850), included in the Scenes de la vie privee section of his novel sequence La Comedie humaine. Set in Paris in 1819, it follows the intertwined lives of three characters: the elderly doting Goriot; a mysterious criminal-in-hiding named Vautrin; and a naive law student named Eug ne de Rastignac. Originally published in serial form during the winter of 1834/35, Le Pere Goriot is widely considered Balzac's most important novel. It marks the first serious use by the author of characters who had appeared in other books, a technique that distinguishes Balzac's fiction. The novel is also noted as an example of his realist style, using minute details to create character and subtext.