the human comedy

noun

1. (French La Comédie Humaine), a collected edition of tales and novels in 17 volumes (1842–48) by Honoré de Balzac.

A series of novels by Honoré de Balzac. A forerunner of naturalism, The Human Comedy (or, La Comédie humaine, published in the 1830s and 1940s) portrays the complexity of French society.