Emile Zola, L'Assommoir [The Dram Shop]

Valerie Minogue (Swansea University)

Ed. by Tim Unwin, University of Bristol
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.05: French Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth-Century , 1800-1900.
Vol. editors: David Elwyn Evans (University of St Andrews), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Elisabeth Gerwin (University of Lethbridge), Nigel Harkness (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield), Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1877

Places

France (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Naturalist
Novel

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Recommended Reading

When

L’Assommoir

appeared in serial form in 1876, Zola’s bold and uncensorious presentation of the seamier sides of working-class life caused an immediate outcry, and its author was held to be immoral, depraved, even pornographic. Henry Vizetelly, its first English translator, went to prison in 1889 for daring to translate it. Zola, however, saw his novel as “de la morale en action” [“morality in action”]. It appeared as a single volume in 1877, and was an immediate success — becoming the first best-seller of the nineteenth century. The novel tells the life-story of Gervaise Macquart, a young washer-woman from Provence, abandoned in Paris by her lover, with two sons and no money. Zola had earlier considered calling the novel “La Simple vie de Gervaise Macquart”, but…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

3284 words

Citation: Minogue, Valerie . "L'Assommoir". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 May 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11315, accessed 25 November 2024.]

View recommended reading for this article

Emile Zola, L'Assommoir [The Dram Shop]

Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Resources

Save this article

Leave Feedback