by Lucy Sante
First published 1880
Nana works the streets of Paris until she discovers her beauty can buy her a different life. She transforms herself into what society calls a high-class courtesan, accumulating riches and influence that would make aristocrats jealous. Men and women fall under her spell, drawn by her sexual confidence and apparent freedom. She envies their inherited wealth while they covet her independence. Zola portrays her as fundamentally good-natured despite her vanity and limited intelligence. She cannot help but pull others into her orbit, loving them, betraying them, and ultimately destroying them. The novel sparked outrage from respectable society when published, as readers recoiled from Zola's depiction of a world where a prostitute could amass such power. Through Nana's rise and the chaos she creates, the story explores the mutual envy between different social classes and the destructive nature of unchecked desire.
Genres: fiction, romance, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, social-commentary
Setting: Paris
Period: 19th-Century
427 pages · ebook · Barnes & Noble Classics
Content warnings: sexual-content