French novelist and journalist Balzac (1799– 1850) is considered one of the creators of realism in literature. He studied law at the Sorbonne, but soon abandoned it in favor of a literary career. His prodigious output included his greatest work, a linked collection of nearly a hundred novels and short stories called La Comédie Humaine. It is a detailed record of French society at all levels, with a cast of over 2000 sometimes recurring characters.