Paris

"Paris" by Émile Zola is a novel published between 1897 and 1898. The final volume of Zola's Three Cities trilogy follows Abbé Pierre Froment as he returns to Paris after failed journeys seeking relief from his spiritual doubts and lost faith. Set in a modernized capital stirring with social movements, the novel chronicles political corruption, anarchist awakenings, and stark inequality. Zola alternates between depicting the ruling bourgeois society and the social misery of the marginalized, creating a powerful social drama.