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Audio Source: Librivox, Public Domain Therese Raquin
Émile ZOLA (1840 - 1902), translated by Ernest Alfred VIZETELLY (1853 - 1922)
An
unsatisfied wife kills her weak husband in order to carry on a sordid
affair with another man. However, her selfish plans are spoiled when her
husband continues to haunt her. This is often said to be Zola's first
great novel. (Summary by BellonaTimes)
Émile ZOLA (1840 - 1902), translated by Havelock ELLIS (1859 - 1939) This
epic about French coal miners and the burgeoning labor movement is
considered one of Zola's finest novels. - Summary by Matt Pierard
Genre(s): Published 1800 -1900
The Ladies' Paradise
Émile ZOLA (1840 - 1902), translated by Ernest Alfred VIZETELLY (1853 - 1922) Zola's
original French publication, Au Bonheur des Dames ("The Ladies'
Delight"), published 1882, is the eleventh novel in his Rougon-Macquart
series. This English translation by Ernest Alfred Vizetelly, was
published in 1886. It's a glitzy, fast paced Parisian drama depicting
life at the world's first department store, revealing its many
innovative marketing concepts, fashion, glamour, lust, greed, courage,
deception, human foibles, and the vision and financial risk-taking that
led to a world transformation in shopping -- one that set all the little
shop keepers on their heads. All this is contrasted by our heroine
Denise, a young sales woman who struggles through financial hardship,
back-stabbing friendships, and incredible temptations with a quiet
courage that helps her rise to the top. As she passes through fire and
emerges from it unscathed, we get Zola's masterful depiction of social
upheaval and feminine resistance to evil. In 2012 the BBC used the novel
as the basis for an eight-part television series set in northern
England titled The Paradise. A second season followed in 2013. The novel
was also was adapted into a play, The Ladies' Delight, for BBC Radio 4,
premiering in September 2010. ~ Solo by Kristinjg, Edited by Michele
Fry, Summary by Michele Fry
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
The Fortune of the Rougons
Émile ZOLA (1840 - 1902), translated by Ernest Alfred VIZETELLY (1853 - 1922) The
Fortune of the Rougons (French: La Fortune des Rougon), originally
published in 1871, is the first novel in Émile Zola's monumental
twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart. In his introduction Zola
indicates that this series is intended to demonstrate the interaction of
heredity and environment along the lines of natural selection and
evolution. While Zola's metascience is questionable, this novel is
successful in its analysis of the interaction of momentous social and
political events and the everyday lives and aspirations of a provincial
society. In a satisfyingly intricate, vast and integrated plot, set in
the time of Napoleon III's coup d'etat and establishment of the Second
Empire, the fates and fortunes of the disparate descendents of one
Provencal family are traced in detail. The novel ranges from idyll to
cynical observation of base motives, and ends in a way that anticipates
its many sequels. Summary by the soloist.
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
His Masterpiece
Émile ZOLA (1840 - 1902), translated by Ernest Alfred VIZETELLY (1853 - 1922) “His
Masterpiece" (“L’Oeuvre”) is a fictionalized account of the Parisian
art world in the mid 19th century, and the emerging Realism, Naturalism
and Impressionism movements. Emile Zola and Paul Cezanne had been
friends from childhood, and the main character of the novel is thought
to be largely drawn from Cezanne, as well as from Eduard Manet and
Claude Monet. Zola himself appears in the work, in the character of
Pierre Sandoz, a novelist. The painter in this story, Claude Lantier,
attempts to revolutionize the art establishment, where artists painted
in the studio and concentrated on mythological, historical and religious
subjects. Instead, Lantier paints outdoors, in natural light, and with
commonplace subjects. He gained a small group of supporters and
fellow-practitioners in art, literature, architecture and music, but he
could never manage to break out, and the public persisted in
misunderstanding his aims. Meanwhile the artist sank into obsession and
depression. It is believed that the publication of this book, which
documents the failure of the artist to realize his potential, led to a
permanent rift between Cezanne and Zola. - Summary by Lisa Reichert
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
L'Assommoir
Émile ZOLA (1840 - 1902), translated by Ernest Alfred VIZETELLY (1853 - 1922)
Émile
François Zola (French pronunciation: [emil zɔˈla]) (2 April 1840 – 29
September 1902) was an influential French writer, the most important
exemplar of the literary school of naturalism. More than half of Zola’s
novels were part of a set of twenty novels about a family under the
Second Empire collectively known as Les Rougon-Macquart.
L’Assommoir
(1877) is the seventh novel in the series. Usually considered one of
Zola’s masterpieces, the novel—a harsh and uncompromising study of
alcoholism and poverty in the working-class districts of Paris—was a
huge commercial success and established Zola’s fame and reputation
throughout France and the world. (Summary edited from Wikipedia)
Genre(s): Published 1800 -1900
The Markets of Paris
Émile ZOLA (1840 - 1902) The
Markets of Paris is a remarkable work, and is the one which Zola calls
his very best novel, and of which he is far more proud than of any
others in his Rougon-Marquart series – prouder than of L’Assommoir. It
must have been in his early manhood, when poor and friendless, he lived
among the people, that much of the information which makes these pages
so startlingly vivid, was acquired. How many mornings, long before dawn,
must he have visited these markets – how many hours and days must he
have spent there, to have mastered the habits, manners and ways of these
people, who are a class by themselves, and of whom we do not lose
sight, from the beginning to the end of the book. He introduces us to
the Parisian charcutier – the cook shop – and in La Belle Lina, the
mistress of the establishment, we find the sister of Gervaise, the woman
who stirred the depths of our hearts with pity, in L’Assommoir. In
truth The Markets of Paris stands as utterly alone in modern French
literature, as it is distinct and apart, from any other work even by
Zola himself. It is a book for all to read. - Summary by Carolin
Genre(s): General Fiction
The Mysteries of Marseilles
Émile ZOLA (1840 - 1902), translated by Ernest Alfred VIZETELLY (1853 - 1922) The
elopement of Philippe Cayol, an aspiring liberal, poor and untitled
with Blanche De Cazalis, niece of a powerful millionaire and politician
sets the stage in this novel full of twists and turns with villains a
plenty. Philippe's brother Marius strives to protect the two lovers from
the De Cazalis' uncontrolled fury. Although written in his youth Zola's
signature style, his indignation about injustice and his vivid
characterization of the noble, the wealthy and common man is very
evident in this non stop adventure. - Summary by Celine Major