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Au Bonheur des Dames (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

~ Émile Zola (Author), (Translator) "Denise had come by foot from the Gare Saint-Lazare, where she had got off a train from Cherbourg with her two brothers, after a night..." (more)
Key Phrases: girl from lingerie, desk number ten, five francs sixty, Madame Desforges, Madame Aurélie, Madame Marty (more...)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Through charm, drive, and diligent effort Octave Mouret has become the director of one of the finest new department stores in Paris, Au Bonheur des Dames. Supremely aware of the power of his position, Mouret seeks to exploit the desire that his luxuriantly displayed merchandise arouses in the ladies who shop, and the aspirations of the young female assistants he employs. Charting the beginnings of the capitalist economy and bourgeois society, Zola captures in lavish detail the greedy customers and gossiping staff, and the obsession with image, fashion, and gratification that was a phenomenon of nineteenth-century French consumer society. Of all Zola's novels, this may be the one with the most relevance for our own time.


Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics (February 26, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0140447830
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140447835
  • Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #202,046 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #9 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( Z ) > Zola, Emile

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Robin Buss
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Emile Zola
Emile Zola

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
Denise had come by foot from the Gare Saint-Lazare, where she had got off a train from Cherbourg with her two brothers, after a night spent on the hard bench of a third-class carriage. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
girl from lingerie, desk number ten, five francs sixty, oriental salon, lace department, little salesgirl, silk department, despatch department, glove department, chief buyer, fifteen francs, cash desk, whole shop, francs fifty, fancy silks
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Madame Desforges, Madame Aurélie, Madame Marty, Madame de Boves, Madame Guibal, Madame Bourdelais, Madame Baudu, Monsieur Mouret, Baron Hartmann, Rue Neuve-Saint-Augustin, Rue de la Michodière, Place Gaillon, Rue du Dix-Décembre, Vieil Elbeuf, Inspector Jouve, Madame Frédéric, Madame Robineau, Monsieur de Boves, Madame Hédouin, Crédit Immobilier, Madame Boutarel, Bon Marché, Madame Gras, Mademoiselle de Fontenailles, Monsieur Hutin
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Au Bonheur des Dames (Penguin Classics)
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4.4 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The Little Mademoiselle that Could, March 22, 2008
By JoeyD (los gatos, ca) - See all my reviews
  
"The foundations of a person are not in matter but in spirit." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Au Bonheur des Dames is the eleventh novel in the Rougon-Macquart series by Émile Zola. Zola's classic centers around the bright lights of the massive department store (of which the novel is named) run by the charming, yet licentious Octave Mouret. In many ways Octave is almost the male equivalent of Zola's "Nana". The latter used the beauty of her sex to beguile men; while the former uses all the `material girl' treasures on sale at his colossal department store. It is this department store, 'Au Bonheur des Dames', which quickly becomes the center of Parisian society, especially for the upper class female population.

The story begins with the petite, soft-hearted, eighteen-year old Denise Baudu and her two younger brothers, Jean and Pepe entering into the big city for the first time. The trio have suddenly found themselves orphaned and in dire need of money. In order to support her two younger brothers, who in many ways are more like her children than siblings, Denise takes a lowly position as an assistant at the store. Despite the fact that she's an unworldly, poor country girl and to the rest of the staff comes across as weak and simple-minded, the real fact of the matter is - she's as tough as nails, very strong and very intelligent. She also is one of the most genuine, compassionate, and heroic belles I have ever been introduced to in literature. She is the total antithesis of Nana, and is without a doubt my favorite female character in all of French literature. Definitely my favorite character EVER of Zola's!

Zola's classic paces itself in many ways similar to that of a soap opera. He uses the department store as a new phenomenon to show how it helped reshape the business and social life of his country under the Second Empire (1851-1870). "Au Bonheur des Dames" is obviously a microcosm of French society, and when you read this novel you will easily see why. The beauty of his Rougon-Macquart series is that each story centers upon an important aspect of French society during that dynamic, distinctive period. While this may not be my favorite of his (it was # six for me thus far), it does possess quite a bit of charm and again, also introduces his most endearing character in Denise Baudu. Her Cinderella story is the main reason why I enjoyed this one so much, and why I recommend it.

On the minus side for me, as a few other reviewers aptly pointed out, was the fact that Zola really over does it at times with his lavish, overly decorative descriptions of the department store, its many luxurious displays, the day to day operations, etc... etc... At times, I was saying to myself "okay Emile, enough already! Get to the point my friend!" Also, the majority of the characters in this classic are extremely repugnant people with very few agreeable qualities. But that is not atypical when it comes to a Zola classic. For some reason, many of his characters are much seedier than those of his contemporaries (i.e. Flaubert, Balzac, Maupassant, et al...). Which is saying a lot, because none of them sugar-coated anything!

If you are a fan of French literature, love stories, and/or Horatio Alger works (i.e. rags to riches stories) than you probably will enjoy this one. I certainly did!
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of Zola's best, October 28, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Au Bonheur Des Dames (World Classics) (French Edition) (Paperback)
Au Bonheur des Dames is the story of an orphaned young girl Denise. She moves to Paris with her younger siblings to live with her uncle and aunt and immediately is enthralled with the lights and the beauty of the city. She begins work in the store Au Bonheur des Dames and falls in love with its propriator. The novel is a love story but also examines the perpetual battle between the old and the new ways of living. The store Au Bonheur des Dames sells a variety of products while the store of Denise's family is simply a clothing store. Zola's novel is before its time. It accurately describes a social issue of today, the bigger commercial store taking over the small, personalized store.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Vive Zola!, November 17, 2007
By Basbleu "W.R.C." (Abilene, TX USA) - See all my reviews
What a great book! In Au Bonheur des Dames, Zola does his usual fabulous job of handing you a slice of 19th century French life between the covers of a book. The book's male protagonist is lackluster--it's hard to see what makes him so alluring to women. However, the fascinating heroine more than compensates for this flaw. Denise Baudu is a departure from any other 19th century female character imaginable, a combination of Mary Pickford and a 20th century career woman. As a student of consumer culture, I also really enjoyed reading the fruits of Zola's research into Parisian department stores, advertising, etc.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Parisian history through literature: over-the-top, kitschy, and still interesting
"Au Bonheur des Dames" is about life in and around of the great department stores (grands magasins) that emerged in Paris in the mid-19th century. Read more
Published on September 20, 2007 by Yaakov Ben Shalom

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous!
I love Zola and this was no exception. I don't know how he does it-he is never boring. His stories always enthrall me. Read more
Published on April 25, 2006 by Justice

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Zola's best, but still a good read
The eleventh novel in the Rougon-Macquart series, this book picks up where the last installment left off. Read more
Published on May 3, 2005 by Karl Janssen

5.0 out of 5 stars This is my favorite novel
Unlike Dickens' tuburcular heroines, Denise, who indeed suffers what Zola called "poverty in a black silk dress," is plucky, and she ultimately breaks the glass ceiling in her own... Read more
Published on January 3, 2003 by Anne Babson

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Au Bonheur des Dames (Penguin Classics)

"The Rougon-Macquart" (Les Rougon-Macquart) is Emile Zola's most famous series of novels. It consists of 20 novels, describing the members of the families of the Rougons and the Macquarts, and all aspects of life under emperor Louis Napoleon Bonaparte ...

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