 It is part of his series of novels (or "Roman-fleuve") known as "La Comédie humaine" ("The Human Comedy"), which parodies and depicts French society in the period of the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy (1815–1848).In his novel he also mentions the château Azay-le-Rideau, which can still be visited today.Henriette de Mortsauf was modelled on Balzac's close friend Laure Antoinette de Berny (née Hinner), a woman 22 years his senior who greatly encouraged his early career.