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Another Zola masterpiece. The hypocrisy of the clergy, social status, vicious gossip and the descent into madness and its consequences are just a few of the themes that drive this tale of human frailty and ambition. This story could be considered the sequel to The Fortune of the Rougons, the first of the Rougon-Macquart cycle, although it was sixth in Zola’s recommended reading order.

Marthe Rougon, the youngest of the Rougon siblings, and her husband, Francois Mouret—first cousin to Marthe and part of the illegitimate Macquart family tree—are a prosperous couple in the mythical Provence town of Plassans. They rent a room to an enigmatic, mysterious priest, Abbé Faujas, who has left his previous station under unclear circumstances, and his mother. Francois suggests that his wife lead an effort to start a home for young girls. This begins a sequence of events that forever changes the town of Plassans, its social elite and the Rougon and Mouret familes.

Zola’s writing, an intricate late 19th century social commentary, reminds me, in many ways, of Sinclair Lewis’s observations about early 20th century America. In other words, he comments on the great issues of his time that reverberate timelessly. And he always knew how to construct a dramatic, astonishing conclusion.