Émile Zola

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Émile Zola


Born
in Paris, France
April 02, 1840

Died
September 29, 1902

Genre

Influences


Émile Zola was a prominent French novelist, journalist, and playwright widely regarded as a key figure in the development of literary naturalism. His work profoundly influenced both literature and society through its commitment to depicting reality with scientific objectivity and exploring the impact of environment and heredity on human behavior. Born and raised in France, Zola experienced early personal hardship following the death of his father, which deeply affected his understanding of social and economic struggles—a theme that would later permeate his writings.
Zola began his literary career working as a clerk for a publishing house, where he developed his skills and cultivated a passion for literature. His early novels, such as Thérèse
...more

Average rating: 3.94 · 240,163 ratings · 18,555 reviews · 2,935 distinct worksSimilar authors
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4.21 avg rating — 44,004 ratings — published 1885 — 1537 editions
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3.73 avg rating — 39,760 ratings — published 1867 — 1401 editions
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Nana

3.84 avg rating — 28,176 ratings — published 1880 — 1503 editions
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The Ladies' Paradise

3.98 avg rating — 21,163 ratings — published 1883 — 945 editions
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L'Assommoir

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4.08 avg rating — 19,878 ratings — published 1876 — 6 editions
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La Bête humaine

4.03 avg rating — 13,425 ratings — published 1890 — 572 editions
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The Fortune of the Rougons ...

3.91 avg rating — 8,478 ratings — published 1871 — 48 editions
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The Belly of Paris (Les Rou...

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3.92 avg rating — 7,507 ratings — published 1873 — 703 editions
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La Curée (Les Rougon-Macqua...

3.88 avg rating — 6,550 ratings — published 1871
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The Masterpiece

3.99 avg rating — 5,598 ratings — published 1886 — 522 editions
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More books by Émile Zola…
The Fortune of the Rougons La Curée The Belly of Paris La Conquête de Plassans La Faute de l'abbé Mouret Son Excellence Eugène Rougon L'Assommoir
(20 books)
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4.00 avg rating — 180,590 ratings

The Fortune of the Rougons Son Excellence Eugène Rougon La Curée L'Argent The Dream La Conquête de Plassans Pot Luck
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Lourdes The Three Cities Trilogy: Rome Paris
(3 books)
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3.87 avg rating — 654 ratings

Fruitfulness Travail: Labor Truth
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4.06 avg rating — 305 ratings

Contes à Ninon Nouveaux Contes a Ninon
(2 books)
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3.35 avg rating — 106 ratings

More series by Émile Zola…

Related News

We all have our reading bucket lists. James Mustich's 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die is bound to seriously expand that list...
127 likes · 52 comments
Quotes by Émile Zola  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud.”
Émile Zola

“Sin ought to be something exquisite, my dear boy.”
Emile Zola

“I am little concerned with beauty or perfection. I don't care for the great centuries. All I care about is life, struggle, intensity.”
Emile Zola

Polls

November 2022 Old School Classics Poll

 
  34 votes, 26.4%

The Symposium by Plato, -380, 90pp
 
  27 votes, 20.9%

Germinal by Émile Zola, 1885, 592pp
 
  26 votes, 20.2%

Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol, 1835, 178pp
 
  16 votes, 12.4%

 
  13 votes, 10.1%

Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins, 1870, 464pp
 
  13 votes, 10.1%

More...

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