Therese Raquin (Annotated‪)‬

Therese Raquin is a novel (first published in 1867) and a drama (first performed in 1873) by the French writer Émile Zola. The novel was originally published in serial format in the journal L'Artiste and in book format in December of the same year.


Therese Raquin depicts the story of a young woman, unhappily married to her first cousin by an overbearing aunt who may seem to be well-intentioned but in many ways is deeply selfish. Therese's husband, Camille, is sickly and egocentric, and when the opportunity arises, Therese enters into a turbulent and sordidly passionate affair with one of Camille's friends, Laurent.

In his preface, Zola explains that his goal in this novel was to "study temperaments and not characters".  Because of this detached and scientific approach, Therese Raquin is considered an example of naturalism.


This edition has been formatted for your reader, with an active table of contents.  The work has also been annotated, with additional information about the book and the author's life, including an overview, plot introduction, plot summary, characters, major themes, literary significance, adaptations, biographical and bibliographical information.