Envy by Eugene Sue

Envy by Eugene Sue
I downloaded a digital version of this title which was published in English translation in 1899 as part of a five volume set entitled The Seven Cardinal Sins in the same volume with Indolence (or Sloth). The series was first published in France between 1847 and 1849 with each story in the series using dramatic fiction to explore and illustrate the destructive impact of a specific cardinal sin on individuals and society.
The book tells the story of Marie Bastien, 31 years old, and her 16 year old son Frederick, who live estranged from her businessman husband on a small farm in rural France near the Loire River. As the story opens, Marie has converted an abandoned farm into a little Paradise where she is raising her son to appreciate the beauties of Life while living off the meager allowance her husband sends her.
Offered a chance to tour Chateau de Pont Brillant, which has been renovated to make it the home the palatial estate, before the Marquis de Pont Brillant arrives, Marie and Frederick who are poor are overwhelmed by the splendour and looked down upon by the staff of the Chateau. This being Frederick's first encounter with the opulence of the rich, he is filled with envy that the Marquis who is the same age has so much when the people around him have so little. His outlook on life changes completely as he is consumed with envy over this imbalance.
The envy turns to hatred and he plots the murder of the Marquis in scenes that sound reminiscent of teenage mass school shootings today. Marie, who has lived her life only to support the happiness of her son is in a quandry over Frederick's change of mood. When Henri David, a friend of the local doctor, offers to become the boy's tutor, she accepts and he moves into the loft of the farmhouse.
Can Marie and M. David find a way to reach Frederick and divert him from his self-destructive course? Read this novel that still raises important moral questions for modern readers.