Therese Raquin

Zola, Emile

ISBN 10: 2070313964 ISBN 13: 9782070313969

Publisher: Gallimard Education, 2004

Synopsis

Emile Zola was a French novelist who wrote in the school of naturalism and is noted for his work in revolutionizing France. The Rougon-Macquart series brought Zola literary fame and is considered his life work. It took 25 years to finish the 20 volumes. The idea of writing the social history of a family encompassing several volumes probably came from his reading the works of Balzac. Zola shows how people in a family who appear to be quite individualistic are actually quite similar. Heredity and proximity determine who we are and how we act. Theresa Raquin was first published in 1867 in serial form in L; Artiste. In 1873 Zola turned the novel into a play. In Theresa Raquin a well-intentioned aunt marries a young woman to her first cousin. Camille is sickly and selfish, and when the opportunity arises, Thrse enters into a tragic affair with Camille's friend Laurent. Zola called this novel a scientific study of temperament instead of a character study making it an example of naturalism.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

'Therese Raquin' is a clinically observed, sinister tale of adultery and murder among the lower orders in nineteenth-century Paris. Zola's dispassionate dissection of the motivations of his characters, mere 'human beasts' who kill in order to satisfy their lust, is much more than an atmospheric Second Empire period-piece. 'Therese Raquin' stands as a key early manifesto of the French Naturalist movement, of which Zola was the founding father. Even today, this novel has lost none of its power to shock.

About the Author:

?mile Zola was a French writer who is recognized as an exemplar of literary naturalism and for his contributions to the development of theatrical naturalism. Zola s best-known literary works include the twenty-volume Les Rougon-Macquart, an epic work that examined the influences of violence, alcohol and prostitution on French society through the experiences of two families, the Rougons and the Macquarts. Other remarkable works by Zola include Contes ? Ninon, Les Myst?res de Marseille, and Th?r?se Raquin.

In addition to his literary contributions, Zola played a key role in the Dreyfus Affair of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. His newspaper article J Accuse accused the highest levels of the French military and government of obstruction of justice and anti-semitism, for which he was convicted of libel in 1898. After a brief period of exile in England, Zola returned to France where he died in 1902. ?mile Zola is buried in the Panth?on alongside other esteemed literary figures Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas.

About this edition

• Publisher: Gallimard Education
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 2070313964
• ISBN 13: 9782070313969
• Binding: Pocket Book
• Number of pages: 336