Reviewed by Karen Langley
The My Reading series from Oxford University Press takes as its premise that the best book recommendations come from someone who cares for the work in question; books and authors being discussed by a person who cares about them and their work will give insights which might not be available from other sources. So far, they’ve issued an interesting range of titles, focusing on names as diverse as Octavia E. Butler, Proust, Charles Dickens and Colette. The latest release in the series takes a look at the author Emile Zola; subtitled Writing Modern Life, it’s written by Rachel Bowlby and makes fascinating reading
The book starts from the point of view that though everyone has heard of Zola, not many have actually read him, and Bowlby wants to encourage us to do so. That’s an intriguing starting point, as there is much online love for the author, as well as a #Zolaaddiction event. However, it may be that he’s not more generally read, like Dickens, say; and so Bowlby’s stated aim is a good one. Zola was an incredibly prolific author and his books range over all aspects of modern life as it was in his day; so from that point of view, reading him should certainly be something of an eye opener.
Bowlby splits her work into three sections: Introductions: Characters; Profiles, Milieux; In the Middle; Shops, and Endings; Plots; Exile in London. Within each part, she explores Zola’s writing through a particular lens, building up a picture of the author and his work, as well as the context in which his books are set, and how they reflected his times. Interestingly, as well as considering his major Rougon-Marquet sequence (reprint reviews of several can be found here), she also focuses strongly on his early novel Therese Raquin; this is perhaps his best-known work nowadays (it’s certainly the only one I can be sure of having read), and it seems to contain many of his major themes.
However, Zola’s works looked at just about every kind of setting and life during his times; from politics, shopping and mining to the food trade, war and prostitution, basically all life was there in his books. As Bowlby points out, he gave prominence to working class life when it wasn’t necessarily the type of subject matter authors took on; and he revealed the social inequality in the world around him. He was frank about sexuality and hypocrisy, as well as the impact of circumstances and surroundings on his characters. Interestingly, Bowlby returns regularly to the aforementioned Therese Raquin, which was his first success as an author. Its powerful themes do recur in Zola’s work, it still has the ability to shock and it very much reflects the world of the period.
Bowlby takes a good look at Zola’s characters, pointing out that although the main players are strongly drawn, some of them are types – silhouettes or profiles – although all are memorable and play their part. Society influences so many of these characters and she’s particularly taken with the fact that such a range of women protagonists are presented, of all classes.
Interestingly, Bowlby’s other writing often focuses on shopping, (her book Back to the Shops is reviewed here) and of course one of Zola’s best-known books is The Ladies’ Paradise, which is all about the genesis of the department store. This work is at the centre of the middle section of the book and her exploration of the changing world which the book captures is fascinating. We are almost, of course, in a post-High Street era, but Bowlby’s exploration of how the large stores affected the smaller ones makes particularly interesting reading.
The final section of the book focuses on the Dreyfus Affair and its effect on Zola, as well as his exile in England. Here, his daily work routine took on a particular significance, and it’s clear from what she says that this was important to him all through his life. Once he became famous, having the peace and quiet to write was harder to find, but the solitude he had whilst in exile was actually something of a boon. I found the last sections, dealing with his final demise, a little bit of a shock, as I hadn’t known how he died or indeed that life had imitated work in what was perhaps an unexpected way; and this was quite moving.
Writing Modern Life is a wonderful read, and Bowlby’s love of Zola’s work really comes through. Her insights into his life and work are perceptive, and she really does shine a light on the pleasures to be gained by reading Zola. The biographical elements were so interesting, too, with her knowledge and understanding of his life adding a lot to the narrative; his letters from England, in particular, revealed much of his daily life and working methods. Bowlby’s take on Zola is a fascinating one, and her intention to make the reader want to pick up one of the author’s books has certainly succeeded with me!
Karen Langley blogs at kaggsysbookishramblings and thinks that, under the surface, not much has really changed since Zola’s time…
Rachel Bowlby, Emile Zola: Writing Modern Life (Oxford University Press, 2025). 978-0198874126, 176pp., hardback.
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