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The Red Inn book cover

The Red Inn

Honoré de Balzac · English text · 13,131 words

Balzac’s “The Red Inn” unfolds as a story told over dinner, where a past crime and a question of guilt shape the guests’ conversation. The frame narrative turns a tale of violence into a problem of interpretation and moral responsibility.

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Background

The story reflects Balzac’s interest in how social position, ambition, and private history shape a person’s life. Its nested storytelling leaves readers to weigh evidence alongside the listeners inside the tale.

Reading notes

  • Keep track of the outer dinner conversation and the story within it.
  • Notice how the listeners respond to the account.
  • Ask whether guilt depends on intention, action, or the consequences that follow.

Version note

Prepared from the English text supplied in the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press bilingual anthology. The site owner confirmed publication permission for this source edition on 21 October 2026. Publisher and edition details remain recorded in the rights audit.