Travel Tips

Much of the literary focus on VT is centered on Anglo-Saxon authors who lived and wrote in Paris. You will find many references to Hemingway or Joyce, Shakespeare and Company, the lost generation, etc…

But, for those of you who might be interested in examining Paris from a French literary perspective I suggest Emil Zola. You do not have to read French (although it helps).

Emil Zola was born in Paris on 2 April 1840, 10 rue Saint Joseph in the 2nd arrondisement (note to myself: go take picture) and died in Paris on 29 September 1902. He is buried (not sure the term is appropriate given the location) in the Pantheon (picture to come).

I do not intend to provide a detailed biography of Emil Zola nor will I go into detail about his political activities; this is a look at the Rougon-Macquart cycle and the various places in Paris referred to in the novels.

Les Rougon-Macquart is the overall title for a collection of twenty novels written by Zola between 1871 and 1893. This overall title is followed by the subtitle “Natural and Social History of a Family Living during the Second Empire”. I translated that myself but I’m at a loss as to how to explain it. Zola has been defined as a “naturalist” (I hate these labels but they do make things easier I guess...). My instinct tells me that the explanation lies in the moments chosen, gestures, impressions (Zola was linked to the Impressionist movement) and that I will have to meditate on this some more...

The twenty novels (where relevant linked to my tips) are, in order of publication (thanks Wikipedia!):

1. La Fortune des Rougon (1871)

2. La Curée (1871-2)

3. Le Ventre de Paris (1873)

4. La Conquête de Plassans (1874)

5. La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret (1875)

6. Son Excellence Eugène Rougon (1876)

7. L'Assommoir (1877)

8. Une Page d'amour (1878)

9. Nana (1880)

10. Pot-Bouille (1882)

11. Au Bonheur des dames (1883)

12. La Joie de vivre (1884)

13. Germinal (1885)

14. L'Oeuvre (1886)

15. La Terre (1887)

16. Le Rêve (1888)

17. La Bête humaine (1890)

18. L'Argent (1891)

19. La Débâcle (1892)

20. Le Docteur Pascal (1893)

Research on Amazon has provided me with the following information about availability of titles in English and the translations used (thanks to the cool person who compiled the list).

1. La Fortune des Rougons: the following free translation is available on line under the name The Fortune of the Rougons but it is depressingly poor. As this is the first book in the series and sets the scene for all that will come later this is truly a disappointment to me. We can only hope that something will be done about this in the near future. As concerns Paris the novel is set elsewhere and therefore it is not necessary for the Zola tour.

2. La Curée: the English title of this one is The Kill and a new translation is available so you will have a choice. It’s the story of unscrupulous real estate dealings in Second Empire Paris (think Haussmann). The main area in Paris that you should visit is the Parc Monceau and surrounding side streets: 5, avenue Van Dyck is purported to be the house that Zola used for his description of the Saccard residence (Paris 8th arrondisement).