Bibliograph

Pot luck

Type

Label

Pot luck

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

fiction

Main title

Pot luck

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Series statement

Oxford world's classics

Summary

The tenth novel in the "Rougon-Macquart" series by Émile Zola, "Pot Luck (Pot-Bouille)" was first published in serially format in the periodical "Le Gaulois" between January and April 1882. The title of the work, "Pot-Bouille," is a 19th-century French slang term for a large cooking pot used for preparing stews. It is a term that really has no direct translation in English. The title of the novel which recounts the activities of the residents of a block of flats in the Rue de Choiseul over the course of two years is meant to reflect the greed, ambition and depravity which lie beneath a thin veil of upstanding moral character. The residents of this block of flats are comprised of principally five families: The Campardons, The Duveyriers, The Josserands, The Vabres, and The Pichons. New resident 22-year-old Octave Mouret who has taken a salesman's job at a nearby shop, moves into the building and causes a stir as he pursues the married women of the community

Target audience

adult

Classification