Eugénie

by Desmond Seward
This is a biography of the wife of Napoleon III and the empress of the second empire. It is written from a very supportive view and is very readable.
It does not set out to supply new information but it does give an interesting portrait of second empire life and is a great background to the Rougon Macquart novels of Emile Zola.
A good bibliography as well. 8/10

www.emilezola.info

Zest for Life

by Emile Zola

The twelfth novel in the Rougon-Macquart series and the worst so far in my view. The plot is extremely thin and being obsessed with death is very depressing. No wonder one of the hero's idols is Schopenhauer.
The novel is set on the Normandy coast and has some good description of the sea and its relentless attack on the cliffs. There are some graphic descriptions of childbirth and gout but I found the whole thing a bit too repetitious. Hopefully it will be like La Curée and improve on second reading. Still the good news is that the next novel is Germinal and this I love. 4/10

www.emilezola.info

The Ladies Paradise

by Emile Zola
The eleventh book in the Rougon Macquart series and one of the most fascinating to date. It follows on very closely from Pot Bouille following the fortunes of Octave Mouret and the growth of the department store. The social and economic history element to this book is as fascinating as the character narrative itself.
The heroine reminded me very much of a Dickensian heroine although I did enjoy her resolve in leaving her uncle and the umbrella maker to run with the new. 9/10

www.emilezola.info

Pot-Bouille

by Emile Zola
This marks the half way stage in the Rougon-Macquart series being the tenth out of 20 novels. It is set in Paris and describes the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie through the goings on in one house in the Rue de Choiseul. Only one member of the Rougon-Macquarts features and this is Octave Mouret who comes to Paris from the South and sets about conquering Paris and its women, with varying success.
It was a good read and as usual peopled with a number of great characters, notably the horrible Mme Josserand and her equally obnoxious brother, Bachelard 8/10

Nana

by Emile Zola

The ninth book in the Rougon Macquart series.
This is one of the best known of Zola's novels, not least for the allegations of pornography when first published. Now, more than 100 years later it still has the ability to shock in its depiction of a society rotting beneath a facade of respectability.
I did not enjoy this as much as some of his books as I found it difficult to differentiate some of the characters early on but still a good read. 7/10

Une Page d'Amour

by Emile Zola
The eighth novel in the Rougon Macquart series and featuring Helene Mouret and her daughter Jeanne. The novel is set around the Passy area of Paris and describes the love affair that Helene has with a neighbour and its disastrous consequences. One of the saddest books but almost Dickensian in its sentimentality at the end. Great depictions of Paris and the childrens ball is great writing 8/10

See www.emilezola.info

L'Assommoir

Widely acknowledged as one of the great novels from the Rougon Macquart series of novels by Emile Zola.
It is a very tightly structured book charting the rise and fall of Gervaise Macquart and a devastating comment on the effects of poverty. As ever with Zola some of the descriptive passages are suberb, the wedding walk and the huge feast in the shop for instance and the unforgettable death scene with Madame Coupeau. 9/10

I have some pictures from a modern day following of the wedding day walk on my web site at www.emilezola.info