Honora de Balzac is considered the founder of social realism. Balzac was the first writer to write about all social levels of the social scene in France. His vast collection of works encompasses the Restoration period and the July Monarchy. La Comedie Humaine was written between 1799 and 1850. This collection contains 95 novels, stories, and essays. Gobseck began as a cabin boy and worked his way up while traveling around the world. He became rich and a miser. His philosophy of never helping anyone because "adversity is the greatest of all teachers" was well known. He also believed that all the peoples of the world were really very much alike because money was the greatest common denominator.