Finding Money

Honoré de Balzac, who would later gain fame as a celebrated writer in post-Napoleonic France, was known for his intricate characters and keenly realistic writing style. Like many young artists, he endured the “starving artist” lifestyle in 19th-century Paris. One night, a thief slipped into Balzac’s modest, one-room apartment and started picking the lock on his desk.

Just then, he was startled by a sardonic laugh coming from the bed, where Balzac, whom he had assumed was asleep, was watching him intently. “Why are you…