A Passion in the Desert 1830 is a short story by French author Honor de Balzac. Written as part of his La Comdie humaine sequence A Passion in the Desert is a frequently anthologized work of short fiction that explores humanitys relationship with nature as well as the effects of conquest and colonization. The story was loosely adapted into a 1997 feature film and remains one of Balzacs most acclaimed works. The storys frame narrative begins after a man and woman attend a menagerie in Paris. The woman is horrified by what she has seen a man working with a tamed hyena as though it were human. Her companion the storys narrator reveals his experience in these matters and agrees to tell her a tale reported to him by a crippled veteran of Napoleons conquests. This soldier he explains was captured by Ottoman forces during the emperors campaign in Egypt. Managing to escape he fled across the desert on horseback toward the safety of the Nile. When his horse died from exhaustion he continued on foot and discovered in the damp protection of a cave a sleeping panther. Terrified at first he slowly came to an understanding with the creature learning to live at her side without angering her or falling prey to her animal hunger. One day however emerging from the cave to admire an eagle in flight he is struck with the feeling that the panther had become jealous and devises a plan to escape her inevitable wrath. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript this edition of Honor de Balzacs A Passion in the Desert is a classic of French literature reimagined for modern readers.