Library: VCE Literature Texts: The Ladies' Paradise

19th Century Paris & French Society

File:Gustave Caillebotte - Paris Street, Rainy Day - 1964.336 - Art Institute of Chicago.jpg - Wikimedia Commons n.d., viewed 14 September 2021, < https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gustave_Caillebotte_-_Paris_Street,_Rainy_Day_-_1964.336_-_Art_Institute_of_Chicago.jpg >.

France, 1815–1940 The restoration and constitutional monarchy
Britannica article outlining the major events in French History. Focus on the period between 1850 and 1870.
Paris 1789- Mid 19th Century
Encyclopedia Britannica article documenting the changes in Paris. Proceed to the first part of next section. Mid 19th Century - 1968, for more information on Zola's Paris.
Paris: Capital of the Nineteenth Century
Article describing the urban changes in Paris during the 19th Century. Includes images. Perspecta
Vol. 12 (1969), pp. 163-172 (10 pages)
Charitable Ladies: Gender, Class and Religion in Mid Nineteenth-Century Paris
Describes the work charity work of wealthy Parisian women as well as the conditions of the poor and life in Paris at the time. Past & Present
No. 177 (Nov., 2002), pp. 121-156 (36 pages) . JSTOR article requires State Library of Victoria login.
An Insider's View Of 19th-Century Paris (Even The Urinals)
Collection of photographs of 19 Century Paris, audio description provided. National Public Radio (USA).
A Look at the Streets of Paris From the 1860s
Photographs of Paris of the 1860s provide a good indication of what life would have been like for different sections of society. History Daily.
Haussmann the Demolisher and the Creation of Modern Paris
Short Khan Academy article about how Paris was modernised in the mid 1800s.
The man who created Paris
BBC Culture article about the renewal of Paris under George-Eugène Haussmann. Many of the changes take place during the time of Zola's writing.
The Women of Modernity, the Gendering of Modernity: Bourgeois Respectability and the Forgotten Female Types of French Panorama
Article analyses interpretations of the role of women in the "Modern" era of 19th Century France. Brown University Library for Digital Scholarship. RI, USA.
Impressionism & Modernism – Fashionable Life, Paris 1860-80
Article describes the relationship between art and fashion in wealthy sections of Paris society in the later 1800s. Culture Concept Circle.
Paris and its Province | Part II: Lending a Hand: The Regional Workforce in Paris
Article describes the movement of labour from rural France to Paris during the 1800s. Brown University Library for Digital Scholarship.RI, USA.

The Cambridge Illustrated History of France by Colin Jones; Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie (Foreword by)
Call Number: 944 JON
ISBN: 9780521432948
Publication Date: 1994-10-20
A Concise History of France by Roger Price
Call Number: 944 PRI
ISBN: 9780521362399
Publication Date: 1993-01-21

History of the Department Store

"Au Bon Marché" (audio in French, subtitles are available in French and English by clicking on the CC button on the Youtube control bar) is a superstore built in 1852 in Paris. As the name suggests, it offered quality products to Parisians at a very cheap price. With that in mind, it created not only consumerism as we know it now, but also, for the first time, it started offering social security to its employees, employing women, and it sparkled some of the first movements for women's rights of our modern world. French Conversation Group

THE HISTORY OF LE BON MARCHÉ
A concise history of the Le Bon Marché department store.
A history of the department store
BBC Culture web site article with images.

Criticism & Interpretation

VCE English & Literature guide
State Library of Victoria guide to VCE Literature books. Scroll to section about Ladies's Paradise. Includes access to Gale Literary Sources database.

Be sure to join the State Library so that you can search the Gale Literature databases and JSTOR as there are several good articles about Zola and the The Ladies Paradise in these databases. Sign up via the above link.

Also check your local public library's list of databases and Reference tools for Literary databases.

The All-Encompassing Environment
Gale Literature database article - use State Library of Victoria login. From Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism (Vol. 219.).
Between Symbol and Allegory
Gale Literature database - use State Library of Victoria login. Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism(Vol. 219.)
Consumption and Desire in "Au Bonheur des Dames"
JSTOR database article requires login - use State Library Victoria.The French Review
Vol. 81, No. 4 (Mar., 2008), pp. 696-706 (11 pages)
Haussmannization, Circulation and the Ideal City of Au Bonheur des Dames
Gale Literature database article - use State Library of Victoria login. Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism(Vol. 219. )
Nana, prostitution and the textual foundations of Zola's Au Bonheur des Dames
Gale Literature database article - use State Library of Victoria login. From University of Nebraska Press.
On Reconciling Technical Progress with Biological Decay in the Novels of Émile Zola
Gale Literature database - use State Library of Victoria login. From Romance Languages Annual.
Temples of Delight: Consuming Consumption in Emile Zola's Au Bonheur des dames
Gale Literature database - use State Library of Victoria login. Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism(Vol. 219. )

Benjamin and Zola: Narrative, the Individual, and Crowds in an Age of Mass Production
JSTOR database article - use State Library of Victoria login.
Comparative Literature Studies
Vol. 33, No. 4 (1996), pp. 396-413 (18 pages)
Gender, Consumption, and Commodity Culture
JSTOR article - use State Library Victoria login.
Gender, War, and the Department Store: Zola's "Au Bonheur des Dames"
JSTOR database article - use State Library Victoria login. SubStance
Vol. 36, No. 2, Issue 113: The Future of Anarchism (2007), pp. 126-146 (21 pages)

Oxford Academic (Oxford University Press)
Brian Nelson discusses Émile Zola’s commitment to the truth and the social significance of his novels.

The Birth of the Department Store: Émile Zola’s Au bonheur des dames and BBC’s The Paradise miniseries
Though this article compares the Zola's novel with the British TV series, The Paradise, there are some very useful insights into Zola's writing. Michael Miller, University of Miami.
Conspicuous Consumers: the Victorian Department Store and the Women 's Movement
The Ladies' Paradise is one of the novels analysed in this theses by Joslyn McCraw VonKaenel Clemson University, SC, USA. PDF file.
The Department Store as Ladies' Paradise?
Article discusses consumption and representation of women in The Ladies' Paradise.
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Equinoxes, Issue 7:Printemps/Ete 2006
Article ©2006, Bethany Hetrick
The Ladies' Paradise Background
Grade Saver study guide, sections include summary, background, character list, themes, quotes, analysis. Some sections are better than others. Advertisements on pages.
The Reception of The Ladies Paradise in NineteenthCentury England and the Fight Against Sensual Capitalism
Thesis by Diana Kolesnik, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Zola's vision of socialism
Article from the Alliance for Workers' Liberty. (Check About page for information about this group.) Explores theme of exploitation of workers and repression of women, worker solidarity and Zola's politics.
Émile Zola and the integrity of representation
Article by Professor Brian Nelson discussing Zola's depiction of 19th Century society.
“Émile Zola and the Naturalistic School, or Realism in French Literature” (1885) by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Edited with an Introduction and Notes.
Article from Victorian Popular Fiction by Scott C. Thompson. Introduces and analyses an article written about Zola's work in 1885 by Mary Braddon. PDF file.

Review of The Ladies Paradise by Émile Zola. Analyses Zola's writing, puts in in the context of his series and compares with TV series The Paradise. 17 minutes.

Émile Zola

'Emile Zola 1840 - 1902' 2021, Flickr, viewed 13 September 2021, < https://www.flickr.com/photos/colorizedimages/36170831995 >.

Émile Zola
Encyclopedia Britannica biographical article includes images.
Emile Zola Biography
Cliff Notes short article. Also see link to Zola and Naturalism at the end of the article.
Emile (Edouard Charles Antoine) Zola
Gale Literature database article - use State Library Victoria login. m: European Writers: The Romantic Century(Vol. 7.)
Naturalist Movement
Reference explanation of the Naturalist Movement. EBSCO -Salem Press Encyclopedia. 2021
Experiments of a naturalist
Irish Times article about Zola, his works, life, influences and philosophy.

Oxford Academic (Oxford University Press)
Brian Nelson discusses Émile Zola and his work’s relevance in today’s society.

The 100 Most Influential Writers of All Time by J. E. Luebering (Editor)
Call Number: 809 ONE
ISBN: 9781615300051
Publication Date: 2009-12-20
Impressionism and Postimpressionism by Sarah Halliwell
Call Number: 700.9034 IMP
ISBN: 9780817247300
Publication Date: 1998-01-01
The Chambers Book of Great Speeches by Chambers (Ed.)
Call Number: 808.85 CHA
ISBN: 9781471801730
Publication Date: 2014

Emile Zola: Biography & Books
Study.com article about Émile Zola and his philosophy.

The Paradise

Bill Gallagher returns to BBC One with new series The Paradise
Press release from the BBC about The Paradise an adaption of Émile Zola's Ladies Paradise, re-set in England. See trailer below.

Elaine Cassidy explains Katherine's new life - The Paradise - Series 2 - BBC One
Stream original BBC programmes FIRST on BBC iPlayer