Honoré de Balzac grave

The grave of Honoré de Balzac sits within the Père Lachaise Cemetery, a site that holds a surprising connection to his own literary imagination. Years before his death, Balzac featured this very cemetery in his famous novel Père Goriot. In the book’s final, haunting scene, the protagonist stands above the graveyard and looks out over the city of Paris, issuing a defiant challenge to the life that awaits him there.