Colonel Chabert

An old man arrives at the offices of the lawyer Derville, claiming to be Colonel Chabert, a hero of the Napoleonic Wars who was left for dead on the battlefield, but in fact managed to survive under a pile of corpses before spending years as a recovering amnesiac. Having returned to Paris and discovered that his wife has married an aristocrat who has liquidated all his assets, Chabert enlists the help of Derville to recover both his name and his fortune.

Part of Balzac's La Comédie humaine cycle, Colonel Chabert is a poignant tale about the pursuit of justice, as well as a portrait of France's transition from the Napoleonic Empire to the Restoration. Inspired by actual events, the novella has captured the imagination of generations of readers and has been adapted for the stage and screen numerous times.

Un batran ajunge la birourile avocatului Derville, pretinzand a fi colonelul Chabert, un erou al razboaielor napoleoniene care a fost lasat mort pe campul de lupta, dar de fapt a reusit sa supravietuiasca sub o gramada de cadavre inainte de a petrece ani ca o recuperare amnezic. Dupa ce s-a intors la Paris si a descoperit ca sotia sa s-a casatorit cu un aristocrat care si-a lichidat toate bunurile, Chabert solicita ajutorul lui Derville pentru a-si recupera atat numele, cat si averea. Partea din ciclul La Comédie humaine al lui Balzac, colonelul Chabert este o poveste intensa despre urmarirea justitiei, precum si un portret al tranzitiei Frantei de la Imperiul Napoleonic la Restaurare.