In a shabby Paris boarding house, old Goriot beggars himself for his two ungrateful society-climbing daughters while the ambitious student Rastignac learns just how far he'll go to conquer high society.
Books mentioned in Père Goriot (4)
Delphine by Madame de Staël: “"DELPHINE." That last word doubtless contained an allusion to some scene that had taken place between them.”
Le Mont Sauvage by René-Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt: “Marty in Le Mont Sauvage, a fine play taken from Le Solitaire”
Le Solitaire by Vicomte d'Arlincourt: “a fine play taken from Le Solitaire”
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes: “I am like Don Quixote, I have a fancy for defending the weak against the strong.”
Books that mention Père Goriot (4)
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser: “In her comfortable chambers at the Waldorf, Carrie was reading at this time "Pere Goriot," which Ames had recommended to her.”
Why Read the Classics by Italo Calvino: “Balzac essay: 'a first draft of Père Goriot'”
Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis: “there are books like ‘Ethan Frome’ and ‘Père Goriot’ and ‘Tono-Bungay’ and Renan’s Jesus”