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During which historical period is the Rougon-Macquart cycle set?

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Black and white portrait of French novelist Emile Zola with glasses, a full beard, and mustache, wearing a suit and looking to the side. — Émile Zola French novelist Émile Zola.

The Rougon-Macquart cycle, a series of 20 novels by Émile Zola, is set during the historical period of the Second Empire in France.21

This era, which spanned from 1852 to 1870, corresponds to the reign of Napoleon III. Zola utilized this specific timeframe to document the social and natural history of a family, examining the impact of heredity and environment amidst the rise of modern industrialism.12