Honore de Balzac

Vautrin's Last Avatar Honore de Balzac

Vautrin's Last Avatar is a spectacular closure to the saga of Vautrin (introduced in Pere Goriot), Abbe Carlos Herrera (introduced in Harlot's Progress), and Jaques Collins a.k.a. Trompe La Mort - in fact one and the same person, the original supervillain capable of anything. It also brings closure to three other books: Lost Illusions, Distinguished Provincial in Paris, and Harlot's Progress, as these books feature Lucien du Ruprembre. At the same time, it brings an end to the family of M. Gobseck the moneylender introduced in M. Gobseck and later brought back by proxy with Esther Gobseck.