After his first major novel, Thérèse Raquin (1867), Zola started the series called Les Rougon-Macquart, about a family under the Second Empire.
Pas romanit të tij të parë të madh, Thérèse Raquin (1867), Zola filloi serinë e quajtur Les Rougon-Macquart, rreth një familje nën .