Au Bonheur des Dames (The Ladies' Delight)

Now the basis for the major BBC tv adaptation. "The Paradise", this is a lavish drama and a timeless commentary on consumer capitalism. "The Penguin Classics" edition of Emile Zola's "The Ladies' Delight" is based on an acclaimed, vivid and modern translation by Robin Buss, who has also introduced the novel. The Ladies' Delight is the glittering Paris department store run by Octave Mouret. He has used charm and drive to become director of this mighty emporium, unscrupulously exploiting his young female staff and seducing his lady customers with luxurious displays of shimmering silks, satins, velvets and lace. Then Denise Baudu, a naive provincial girl, becomes an assistant at the store - and Mouret discovers that he in turn can also be enchanted. With its greedy customers, gossiping staff and vibrant sense of theatre, "The Ladies' Delight" ("Au Bonheur des Dames" in the original French) is one of the most richly exciting novels in Zola's "Les Rougon-Macquart" cycle. This edition also contains a bibliography, introduction, chronology and explanatory notes.