This volume contains ten out of the twenty short and medium length stories from the études philosophiques (philosophical studies) category within Balzac's Comedie Humaine. These being: "The Unknown Masterpiece", "Christ in Flanders", "Melmouth Reconciled", "La Marana's", "El Verdugo", "Farewell", "The Conscript", "A Seaside Tragedy", "The Red House", and "The Elixir of Life".
On average, these only have very minor philosophical themes, if at all, with the majority of them being rather dark or concerned with problems of morality. Generally the stories were excellent, and the anticipation of what would happen next kept the pages turning. Some were particularly memorable, including "El Verdugo" which was grimly tragic, and "Melmouth Reconciled" which was a twist on the Faust tale. There was a good variety of themes and plots among them, which departed more from the problems love of many of the stories in the previous two volumes of the Comedie Humaine that I'd read.
Though it happened less often in these stories than in other volumes, the frequency with which people die out of heatbreak or from emotional shock in Balzac is beginning to irritate me, as it makes an unsatisfactory end to a good story, and does not convince. Otherwise, I would recommend this as an interesting, atmospheric, and varied collection of short stories. ( )