The Fat and the Thin (Rougon-Macquart) - Softcover

Émile Zola

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1595690522 ISBN 13: 9781595690524

Publisher: Mondial, 2005

Synopsis

"The Fat and the Thin" is a study of the teeming life which surrounds the great central markets of Paris. The heroine is Lisa Quenu, a daughter of Antoine Macquart (see The Fortune of the Rougons). She has become prosperous, and with prosperity her selfishness has increased. Her brother-in-law Florent had escaped from penal servitude in Cayenne and lived for a short time in her house, but she became tired of his presence and ultimately denounced him to the police. 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. "But it also embraces a powerful allegory," writes Mr. E. A. Vizetelly in his preface to the English translation, "the prose song of the eternal battle between the lean of this world and the fat - a battle in which, as the author shows, the latter always come off successful. M. Zola had a distinct social aim in writing this book." (J. G. Patterson)

About this title

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.

Language Notes:

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

About this edition

• Publisher: Mondial
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1595690522
• ISBN 13: 9781595690524
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 316