Honore de Balzac 
Elixir of Life 

This is one of Balzac’s fantastic reality tales, not only resounding in the supernatural and the occult, in diabolical elixirs, eternal life or in a piece of the conscious body that returns to the life of a corpse. There is a sharp criticism against some ways of the living of the bourgeoisie and especially on the institution of the Catholic Church. (Goodreads)