La Grande Breteche (Esprios Classics): Translated by Ellen Marriage and Clara Bell in Bloomington, MN

La Grande Bretèche is a short story by Honoré de Balzac published in 1831. It is one of the Scènes de la vie privée of La Comédie humaine. Dr. Horace Bianchon discovers near the town of Vendôme an abandoned manor: La Grande Bretèche. Intrigued by the ruins, the doctor tries unsuccessfully to enter the house night after night. Upon returning to the inn where he is staying, he questions the locals about the house. Finally several locals, including a lawyer and the innkeeper, explain the story of the manor.