I found a eulogy (below) given by Victor Hugo at Balzac's funeral. It's interesting. Hugo was able to foresee Balzac's impact in the future. He also comments on Balzac's realist style. In reading Eugénie Grandet, I felt like it was the first really "modern" book we have read, with its realism and attention to detail. It read much more like a modern popular novel than Austen or Shelley.

http://www.gavroche.org/vhugo/balzaceulogy.shtml