Therese Raquin (French Texts)

by Brian Nelson (Author), Brian Nelson (Author), Brian Nelson (Author), Emile Zola (Author)

• New

  Paperback
  1998

  $29.27

  A gothic tale of murder and adultery, Therese Raquin was denounced aspornography on its publication in 1867. Putrid literature was howLouis Ulbach described the novel in a contemporary review. Zoladefended himself against these attacks in his preface to the secondedition, in which he outlined his aim to produce a new, scientific form of realism. The novel marks a crucial step in Zola's developmentand is a major early work of Naturalism.In his introduction toTherese Raquin, Brian Nelson places the novel in its cultural, intellectual and artistic contexts, and compares Zola's scientific aimswith his actual practice in this work. The scientific status ofNaturalist fiction remains problematic; in the final analysis it isinfluenced by literary models and conventions. Zola's powerfulmythopoeic imagination does much to counteract the mechanistic view ofhumanity the novel was intended to embody. The myth of the fall is, indeed, fundamental to Zola's Naturalistic vision.

• Used

  Paperback
  1998

  $3.35

  This new translation is based on the second edition of 1868, and includes the important 'Preface', in which Zola defended himself against charges of immorality.

• New

  Paperback
  2008

  $10.44

  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. Many readers were scandalized by an approach to character-drawing which seemed to undermine not only the moral values of a deeply conservative society, but also the whole code of psychological description on which the realist novel was based. Together with the important 'Preface to the Second Edition' in which Zola defended himself against charges of immorality, 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. This new translation is based on the second edition of 1868. The Introduction situates the novel in the context of Naturalism, medicine, and the scientific ideas of Zola's day. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.