Emile Zola : a very short introduction / Brian Nelson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nelson, Brian, 1946- author.

Series:

Very short introductions ; 639.

Very Short Introductions ; 639

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Zola, Émile, 1840-1902.

Zola, Émile.

Physical Description:

140 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2020.

Summary:

"Emile Zola was the leader of the literary movement known as "naturalism" and is one of the great figures of the novel. In his monumental Les Rougon-Macquart (1871-93), he explored the social and cultural landscape of the late nineteenth century in ways that scandalized bourgeois society. Zola opened the novel up to a new realm of subjects, including the realities of working-class life, class relations, and questions of gender and sexuality, and his writing embodied a new freedom of expression, with his bold, outspoken voice often inviting controversy. In this Very Short Introduction, Brian Nelson examines Zola's major themes and narrative art. He illuminates the social and political contexts of Zola's work, and provides readings of five individual novels (The Belly of Paris, L'Assommoir, The Ladies' Paradise, Germinal, and Earth). Zola's naturalist theories, which attempted to align literature with science, helped to generate the stereotypical notion that his fiction was somehow nonfictional. Nelson, however, reveals how the most distinctive elements of Zola's writing go far beyond his theoretical naturalism, giving his novels their unique force. Throughout, he sets Zola's work in context, considering his relations with contemporary painters, his role in the Dreyfus Affair, and his eventual murder."--Amazon.ca.

Contents:

1 Zola and the art of fiction p. 5

2 Before the Rougon-Macquart p. 11

3 The fat and the thin: The Belly of Paris p. 30

4 'A work of truth': LAssommoir p. 45

5 The man-eater: Nana p. 59

6 The dream machine: The Ladies' Paradise p. 71

7 Down the mine: Germinal p. 83

8 The Great Motherwort p. 93

9 After the Rougon-Macquart p. 104.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 129-136) and index.

ISBN:

9780198837565

0198837569

OCLC:

1130664515