The Three Cities

work by Zola

Also known as: “Les Trois Villes”

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 14, 2026

Quick Summary

The Three Cities is a trilogy of novels by Émile Zola, published between 1894 and 1898. The novels are Lourdes, Rome, and Paris. They represent Zola's later work, which became more overtly didactic, focusing on his obsessions with scientific progress, socialist humanitarianism, and his critique of Roman Catholicism.12

The trilogy explores themes of faith, social justice, and the clash between traditional religious beliefs and modern scientific thought. Zola uses these novels to lay bare his views on societal issues and advocate for social reform. While considered less forceful than his earlier works, The Three Cities reflects Zola's enduring commitment to addressing contemporary values and his belief in the betterment of the human condition.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Émile Zola
Dreyfus Affair
…novels, Les Trois Villes (1894–98; The Three Cities) and Les Quatre Évangiles (1899–1903; The Four Gospels), are generally conceded to be far less forceful than his earlier work. However, the titles of the novels in the latter series reveal the values that underlay his entire life and work: Fécondité (1899;…
Read More
…novels, Les Trois Villes (1894–98; The Three Cities) and Les Quatre Évangiles (1899–1903; The Four Gospels), are generally conceded to be far less forceful than his earlier work. However, the titles of the novels in the latter series reveal the values that underlay his entire life and work: Fécondité (1899;…
Read More

French literature
Zola
The trilogy Les Trois Villes (1894–98; “The Three Cities”) and the unfinished tetralogy Les Quatres Évangiles (1899–1903; “The Four Gospels”), which followed Les Rougon-Macquart, are unreadably didactic, laying bare the obsessions with scientific progress and socialist humanitarianism, and the hostility toward the philosophy and politics of Roman…
Read More
The trilogy Les Trois Villes (1894–98; “The Three Cities”) and the unfinished tetralogy Les Quatres Évangiles (1899–1903; “The Four Gospels”), which followed Les Rougon-Macquart, are unreadably didactic, laying bare the obsessions with scientific progress and socialist humanitarianism, and the hostility toward the philosophy and politics of Roman…
Read More