Because of its volume and complexity, the Comédie humaine touches on the major literary genres in fashion in the first half of the 19th century.
Although the bulk of the Comédie humaine takes place during the Restoration and the July Monarchy, there are several novels which take place during the French Revolution and others which take place in the Middle Ages or the Renaissance, including "About Catherine de Medici" and "The Elixir of Long Life".