In the Provençal town of Plassans, the scheming Pierre and Félicité Rougon see in Louis Napoleon’s coup d’état their chance to rise, while young Silvère and his sweetheart Miette march with the republican insurgents. Behind them stands Aunt Dide, the founding matriarch whose legitimate and illegitimate descendants will fill twenty novels.
The first volume of Zola’s great family cycle, and the place to begin it. Download the free EPUB.
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