The Works of Emile Zola Part One
Discover the masterpieces of Émile Zola in this curated collection. Explore Germinal, The Earth, and The Fortune of the Rougons—classic works of French literary naturalism and fiction.
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The Fortune of the Rougons
by Emile Zola
This is the initial volume of the Rougon-Macquart series. Though it was by no means Zola's first essay in fiction, it was undoubtedly his first great bid for genuine literary fame, and the foundation of what must necessarily be regarded as his life-work.
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The Fat and the Thin
by Emile Zola
Zola presents a study of the teeming life which surrounds the great central markets of Paris. The heroine is Lisa Quenu, a daughter of Antoine Macquart, who has become prosperous and increasingly selfish. The book contains vivid pictures of the markets, bursting with the food of a great city, and of the vast population which lives by handling and distributing it.
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Abbé Mouret's Transgression
by Emile Zola
Serge Mouret, the younger son of Francois Mouret (see La Conquete de Plassans), was ordained to the priesthood and appointed Cure of Les Artaud, a squalid village in Provence, to whose degenerate inhabitants he ministered with small encouragement. He had inherited the family taint of the Rougon-Macquarts, which in him took the same form as in the case of his mother-a morbid religious enthusiasm bordering on hysteria. Brain fever followed, and bodily recovery left the priest without a mental past. Dr. Pascal Rougon, his uncle, hoping to save his reason, removed him from his accustomed surroundings and left him at the Paradou, the neglected demesne of a ruined mansion-house near Les Artaud, where he was nursed by Albine, niece of the caretaker. The Abb fell in love with Albine, and, oblivious of his vows, broke them... (J. G. Patterson)
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A Love Episode
by Émile Zola
Rougon-Macquart, volume 8: There can be no doubt in the mind of the judicial critic that in the pages of "A Love Episode" ("Une page d'amour") the reader finds more of the poetical, more of the delicately artistic, more of the subtle emanation of creative and analytical genius, than in any other of Zola's works... In all literature there is nothing like the portrayal of the punishment of Helene Grandjean. Helene and little Jeanne are reversions of type. The old "neurosis," seen in earlier bran-ches of the family, reappears in these characters. Readers of the series will know where it began. Poor little Jeanne, most pathetic of creations, is a study in abnormal jealousy, a jealousy which seems to be clairvoyant, full of supernatural intuitions, turning everything to suspicion, a jealousy which blights and kills. Could the memory of those weeks of anguish fade from Helene's soul? This dying of a broken heart is not merely the figment of a poet's fancy. It has happened in real life. The coming of death, save in the case of the very aged, seems, nearly always, brutally cruel, at least to those friends who survive. (C. C. Starkweather)
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Germinal
by Émile Zola
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.
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The Earth
by Émile Zola
When Jean Macquart arrives in the peasant community of Beauce, where farmers have worked the same land for generations, he finds himself involved in the corrupt affairs of the local Fouan family. But, in a community where land is everything, sibling rivalry quickly turns to brutal hatred, as Buteau declares himself unsatisfied with his lot.
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The Dream
by Émile Zola
Set against the background of a town in Northern France, this novel tells the story of a love idyll between a poor embroideress and the son of a wealthy aristocratic family.
