This title is one in Zola's Les Rougon-Macquart, a panorama of mid-19th century French life in 20 novels which studies the effects of the transmission of heredi... » 

This title is one in Zola's Les Rougon-Macquart, a panorama of mid-19th century French life in 20 novels which studies the effects of the transmission of hereditary traits down through different generations of a family. This novel concerns the new social phenomenon of the department store. «