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Earth

novel by Zola
Also known as: “La Terre”

Quick Summary

Earth is a novel by Émile Zola, published in 1887 as part of his 20-novel series, the Rougon-Macquart cycle. This series chronicles the natural and social history of a family under the Second French Empire. Earth specifically focuses on the "sordid lust for land among the French peasantry". Zola's work is characterized by naturalism, a literary movement that sought to apply scientific principles to the study of human behavior, emphasizing the deterministic influences of heredity and environment. The novel, like others in the cycle, uses extensive documentation and vivid imagery to portray its subject matter.123

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