Zola's vision of socialism
The BBC are now showing a major adaptation of one of Emile Zola’s more neglected novels 'Au Bonheur des Dames' (sometimes translated as 'The Ladies Paradise'). This is a good excuse as any to look again at a great but overlooked work. Quite a few people (especially on the left) have read Emile Zola’s novel 'Germinal' with its grim realistic depiction of class struggle in the coalfields of northern France. Others have also read 'Le Bete Humaine' and 'Therese Raquin' which are intense psychological thrillers obsessed with sex and death. Compared to these 'The Ladies Paradise' can seem like a...