Super Short Summary

Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac, set in mid-19th century Paris, follows Bette, a resentful and unmarried woman, who schemes to ruin her cousin Adeline's family after Adeline’s daughter Hortense marries Wenceslas, a young man Bette saved from suicide. Collaborating with Valérie, the mistress of Adeline’s husband Baron Hulot, Bette's plot unfolds, causing turmoil and tragedy within the Hulot family.