num_pages: 480
description: The seventh novel in the Rougon-Macquart cycle, L'Assommoir (1877) is the story of a woman's struggle for happiness in working-class Paris. At the center of the story stands Gervaise, who starts her own laundry and for a time makes a success of it. But her husband soon squanders her earnings in the Assommoir, a local drinking spot, and gradually the pair sink into poverty and squalor. L'Assommoir was a contemporary bestseller, outraged conservative critics, and launched a passionate debate about the legitimate scope of modern literature. This new translation captures not only the brutality but the pathos of its characters' lives.
language: English
title: L'Assommoir
titlecomplete: L'Assommoir
characters: Nana Coupeau, Goujet, Auguste Lantier, Virginie Poisson, Gervaise Macquart, Étienne Lantier, Claude Lantier, Coupeau
genres: Historical Fiction, French Literature, Novels, School, Literature, Roman, Classics, Fiction, 19th Century, France
ratings_count: 16128
places: Paris, France
series: Les Rougon-Macquart
publisher: Penguin Books Ltd