{"product_id":"au-bonheur-des-dames-the-ladies-delight","title":"Au Bonheur des Dames (The Ladies' Delight)","description":"\u003cp\u003eNow the basis for the major BBC tv adaptation \u003ci\u003eThe Paradise\u003c\/i\u003e, this is a lavish drama and a timeless commentary on consumer capitalism. The Penguin Classics edition of Émile Zola's \u003ci\u003eThe Ladies' Delight \u003c\/i\u003eis based on an acclaimed, vivid and modern translation by Robin Buss, who has also introduced the novel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Ladies' Delight\u003c\/i\u003e 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 naïve 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, \u003ci\u003eThe Ladies' Delight\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003eAu Bonheur des Dames\u003c\/i\u003e in the original French) is one of the most richly exciting novels in Zola's \u003ci\u003eLes Rougon-Macquart\u003c\/i\u003e cycle.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis edition also contains a bibliography, introduction, chronology and explanatory notes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEmile Zola (1840-1902) was the leading figure in the French school of naturalistic fiction. His principal work, \u003ci\u003eLes Rougon-Macquart\u003c\/i\u003e, is a panorama of mid-19th century French life, in a cycle of 20 novels which Zola wrote over a period of 22 years, including \u003ci\u003eAu Bonheur des Dames\u003c\/i\u003e (1883), \u003ci\u003eThe Beast Within\u003c\/i\u003e (1890), \u003ci\u003eNana\u003c\/i\u003e (1880), and \u003ci\u003eThe Drinking Den \u003c\/i\u003e(1877).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A complete page-turner about the consumer society, greed, fashion and instant gratification'\u003cbr\u003eIndia Knight\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A fine translation'\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54227569869144,"sku":"9780140447835","price":16.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780140447835.jpg?v=1764846012","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/au-bonheur-des-dames-the-ladies-delight","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}