by Émile Zola
Part of Les Rougon-Macquart, book 12
First published 2006
Pauline Quenu arrives at a windswept house on the Norman coast after her parents die. The daughter of shopkeepers from Les Halles in Paris, she brings her inheritance and her generous nature to relatives who quickly reveal their true character. Her host suffers from painful gout attacks while his greedy wife schemes to access Pauline's money. Their son, a lazy hypochondriac obsessed with illness and death, becomes Pauline's expected husband. The family drains her inheritance while Pauline's kindness and open heart gradually give way to dejection. She watches her resources disappear as her relatives take advantage of her vulnerable position. Death and misfortune begin to circle the isolated coastal household, and Pauline finds herself trapped between duty and despair, her youthful optimism slowly crushed by the weight of family obligation and betrayal.
Genres: fiction, family, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: betrayal, duty-vs-despair, family-obligation
Setting: Les Halles, Norman Coast, Paris
Period: 19th Century
276 pages · Paperback · Mondial
Content warnings: depression