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The Ladies' Paradise (The Ladies' Delight) - Unabridged Kindle Edition

by Émile Zola (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.6 out of 5 stars 167 ratings
This carefully crafted ebook: "The Ladies' Paradise (The Ladies' Delight) - Unabridged" is formatted for your eReader with a functional table of contents. Also known as Au Bonheur des Dames; The Ladies' Delight or The Ladies' Paradise; is the eleventh novel in the Rougon-Macquart series by Émile Zola. The novel is set in the world of the department store, an innovative development in mid-nineteenth century retail sales. Zola models his store after Le Bon Marché, which consolidated under one roof many of the goods hitherto sold in separate shops. In Au Bonheur des Dames, the store is a symbol of capitalism, the modern city and the bourgeois family. It is emblematic of changes in consumer culture, sexual attitudes and class relations taking place at the end of the century. The novel tells the story of Denise Baudu, a 20-year-old woman from Valognes who comes to Paris with her brothers and begins working at the department store Au Bonheur des Dames as a saleswoman. Zola describes the inner workings of the store from the employees' perspective, including the 13-hour workdays, the substandard food and the bare lodgings (for the female staff). Many of the conflicts in the novel spring from the struggles for advancement and the malicious infighting and gossip among the staff. Au Bonheur des Dames is a sequel to "Pot-Bouille". Like its predecessor, Au Bonheur des Dames focuses on Octave Mouret (b. 1840), who at the end of the previous novel married Caroline Hédouin, the owner of a small silk shop. Now a widower, Octave has expanded the business into an international retail powerhouse occupying (at the beginning of the book) most of an entire city block. Au Bonheur des Dames has been made into a number of films, television series and plays.
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  1. Print length
    254 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    e-artnow
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    10 July 2013
  6. File size
    2.1 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product description

About the Author

Émile Zola (2 April 1840 – 29 September 1902) was a French novelist, playwright, journalist, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00FMWDNR8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ e-artnow
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 10 July 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.1 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 254 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer reviews:
    3.6 out of 5 stars 167 ratings

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Zola

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Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
167 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book beautifully written and thoroughly enjoyable. However, the narrative quality receives mixed feedback, with some finding it captivating while others say it has too many scene descriptions. Language quality is also mixed, with some appreciating the beautiful writing while others criticize the poor translation. The book is quite long and receives negative feedback for its pacing.

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ReadabilityNarrative qualityLanguageLengthPacing
23 customers mention ‘Readability’23 positive0 negative

Customers find the book beautifully written and thoroughly enjoyable, with one customer mentioning they could read it time and time again.

"...to the type of novel I would normally read these days it was thoroughly enjoyable and has encouraged me to read more of Zola's work...." Read more

"...All that said, I always find Emil Zola well worth reading." Read more

"...a little overblown in style by today's standards but still an enjoyable read...." Read more

"...But thinking about it, I hated Nana too. This book is interesting because it chronicles the beginning of department stores and does capture "an..." Read more

17 customers mention ‘Narrative quality’8 positive9 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the narrative quality of the book, with some finding it captivating while others note that the descriptions are long-winded and overdone.

"Sometimes over descriptive and repetative but kept my interest...." Read more

"...IT's quite long and involves lots of description, I got a bit muddled by some of the character names, but hey it's a classic!" Read more

"...Good characterisation and plot...." Read more

"...I had pereviously enjoyed Zola's work but found this had far too many scene descriptions in it for my taste...." Read more

16 customers mention ‘Language’10 positive6 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the language of the book, with some finding it beautifully written and very descriptive, while others report poor translation issues.

"...The language is rich and full of adjectives, the sentences incredibly long but with a pace that carries you along, you are drawn into Moray's dream..." Read more

"...Full of evocative descriptions, perhaps a little overblown in style by today's standards but still an enjoyable read...." Read more

"...English was AWFUL - many sentences did not make sense, sentence construction was archaic, vocabulary was suspect and words missing...." Read more

"...The novel is best read in French, although the exhaustive lists of specialised fabrics and some of the dated procedures forced me to resort to..." Read more

3 customers mention ‘Length’0 positive3 negative

Customers find the book quite long.

"...IT's quite long and involves lots of description, I got a bit muddled by some of the character names, but hey it's a classic!" Read more

"...It does go into much more depth and is quite a long book as deals with a lot more about the staff at The Paradise and also Denise than the tv..." Read more

"A bit lengthy and a lot of twists and turn so you tend to get lost making sense of the interpretation" Read more

3 customers mention ‘Pacing’0 positive3 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book unsatisfactory, with one mentioning it becomes bogged down with business practices.

"...The characters in the book are also less likeable than in the TV series...." Read more

"...and showed promise but began to get tedious as it got bogged down with business practices...." Read more

"Not the best interpetation...." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Travel Weary
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good old fashioned romance
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 November 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Having started to watch the current TV adaptation of this novel and noticed that it came from the Emile Zola novel I decided to read the book, although the language is very different to the type of novel I would normally read these days it was thoroughly enjoyable and has encouraged me to read more of Zola's work. The language is rich and full of adjectives, the sentences incredibly long but with a pace that carries you along, you are drawn into Moray's dream of conquering the women of Paris in the mid 1800's making you wish to have been part of it. I finished the book in a few days and was sad to reach the end, I don't believe that Zola wrote a sequal which is a shame as I would love to know how the story carried on. The TV series is ongoing and it will be very interesting to see how it finishes in relation to the book.
    17 people found this helpful
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  • Avid Reader
    3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best translation
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 November 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I borrowed Ladies' Delight by Zola, translated by April Fitzlyon, from the library. When I had read half of it, it had to go back to the library. So I bought this version translated by Ernest Alfred Vizetelly for my Kindle, so I could finish reading it. (This was the cheapest one.) I found this translation far more stilted than the Fitzlyon version - I guess you get what you pay for!

    I always find Zola's accounts of the modernisation of Paris fascinating. I found the buildings and the social changes brought about by the development of the department store more interesting than Denise and her little family, though I would have liked more about Jean's apprenticeship. I agree with a previous reviewer that the descriptions of the departments and their contents did go on a bit - I was skipping whole pages by the end.

    All that said, I always find Emil Zola well worth reading.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Sandy
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 May 2014
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    Sometimes over descriptive and repetative but kept my interest. Books by Emile Zola are always good at reflecting the social classes of that time and this is no exception.
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  • FellfromGrace
    5.0 out of 5 stars So different from the TV series
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 December 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I haven't read any Zola for years and really enjoyed getting back into it. Full of evocative descriptions, perhaps a little overblown in style by today's standards but still an enjoyable read. There are few similarities between this and the TV series - apart from some names and the ultimate conclusion. Zola's story has the same lead characters but their lives are much more complex than the TV series and the store is indeed a Ladies Paradise, it's vast! Peopled with an array of interesting characters, it's a fascinating view into Parisian life in the 19th century, and I enjoyed it immensely
    One person found this helpful
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  • Antenna
    3.0 out of 5 stars Still retains a surprising power to grip - in the original French! Beware of poor translations
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 April 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I gave this 5 stars in the original French, but found this English version useful only to check a few points, like the names of fabrics!

    Since I associate Zola with grim, unrelenting tales of exploited coal miners, the theme of a Paris department store dedicated to delighting women seemed at first uncharacteristically tame and frothy. In fact, behind its plate glass and eye-catching displays, “Au Bonheur des Dames” proves to be as dominating and exploitative as any industrial factory, its shop assistants, clerks, packers and delivery men mere cogs in the machinery, as controlled as any industrial worker, on the mass production line of retailing.

    Beneath his charm and apparent empathy with women and their love of fashion, inspired entrepreneur Octave Mouret is in fact a cynical manipulator: he is not only a casual seducer, but views his female customers as an inexhaustible captive market to be dazzled by his marketing ploys and all too readily induced to fritter away their husbands’ money on the material goods he displays with such alluring skill. His sponsor Baron Hartmann warns him that one day women will “get their revenge” but Mouret is knocked off course where he least expects it by the sweet, unsophisticated but stoical country girl Denise Baudu, who is quick to grasp that the department store is a part of inexorable progress, but steadfastly sticks to her personal principles.

    In vivid if wordy descriptions, Zola describes how the magnificent store looms over the surrounding gloomy alleys, further cutting them out from the sun. These are the haunts of the resentful traditional shopkeepers who persist in their stubborn and ultimately fruitless struggle to survive, when they cannot realistically hope to compete with Mouret’s drastic discounts and huge variety of goods. The scale and brightness of his store, with the light pouring in through glazed roofs, and the Lowry-style bustle on the metal staircases and galleries, as far as the eye can see, creates the idea of a self-contained community, which Zola sometimes calls a “phalanstery” after the C19 ideas of Charles Fourier for a utopian community.

    Yet, although the workers are housed and fed in a paternalistic way, the shop is far from utopian: staff are not allowed to have visitors in their rooms, women have to leave when they become pregnant, and in the summer months of slack demand, assistants are dismissed for the slightest imagined misdemeanour. Not surprisingly, they often resort to scams to swindle the store, and the smallest rumour or incident is exaggerated and spread on the gossip grapevine. Although the customers look down on the assistants who must be ladylike without being accepted as ladies, they often behave badly, not merely overspending on luxuries and abusing the “returns” policy, but even resorting to shop-lifting.

    Just as the store seems very topical in these times of zero hours contracts, class divides and the ravages of competition, Zola’s characters are real in their flaws and complexity. There are also some moments of comedy amongst the exhausting materialism of the store contrasting with the suffering of the impoverished small shopkeepers.

    The novel is best read in French, although the exhaustive lists of specialised fabrics and some of the dated procedures forced me to resort to English translations. These vary a good deal in quality, so it is advisable to check them out before purchase. Some come with interesting introductions, to be read afterwards to avoid spoilers. This kindle translation is far too literal - hence very stilted and wooden in places. Also, not easy to read in conjunction with French kindle version!!
    One person found this helpful
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  • MARCIE D. TERMAN
    1.0 out of 5 stars Woman Hater!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Women are portrayed as incredibly vapid, utterly spend thrift and malicious. But thinking about it, I hated Nana too. This book is interesting because it chronicles the beginning of department stores and does capture "an age." But I really want to Bitch Slap Zola, and I can't because...
    There ain't no Zola no more.
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  • Jenny
    4.0 out of 5 stars Bought for my Kindle
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 April 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Following the TV adaption I wanted to read the book on which it had been based. IT's quite long and involves lots of description, I got a bit muddled by some of the character names, but hey it's a classic!
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars You'll be powerless to resist!
    Reviewed in the United States on 30 April 2013
    Verified Purchase
    The issues themed in this thoroughly enjoyable classic French novel by Emile Zola are as relevant for retail life today as they were for the small shopkeepers of Paris in 1883 when the novel was written.
    The descriptive language of this English translation (Vizetelly) is beautiful to read, from Zola's fine portrayal of his characters to the sumptuous descriptions of the amazing Ladies Paradise. My fervent wish throughout was if only I could read the novel in French!
    Parisian department store, The Ladies Paradise, despite its moniker and its outward beauty, all in the name of commerce, is a great machine, gobbling up the small and spitting out the vulnerable; modern capitalism encapsulated, on the move and unstoppable.
    The novel reveals the life of a Parisian shop assistant as being difficult to say the least. Dodging vicious gossip. Competing to better your position. Trying to keep your position! And doing your best to make ends meet. All while trying to have some kind of a life.
    Shoppers, you haven't been to a sale until you've experienced a Ladies Paradise sale, enticed and tantalised into buying whatever you heart desires no matter how desperate your economic circumstances. The female consumer is powerless to resist. Such is the seduction of owner Octave Mouret's Parisian department store.
    And here we particularly witness the great machine at work. The world of the artisan shopkeepers begins to crumble under the onslaught. I admired their valiant struggles to compete. I sympathised with them, for here too the 21st century reader can easily relate to their plight and the toll it takes on their lives. Or perhaps you will think differently? I believe Zola has less sympathy for the shopkeepers and idealises consumerism as the way of the future.
    Into Mouret's world of ruthless money-making and meaningless affairs steps Denise, our heroine, off the train and with some experience in shop selling, looking for work to support herself and her younger brothers. Her transformation from wide-eyed, somewhat dishevelled country-girl into a young woman who through sheer hard work and determination, logic and intelligence unlocks her inner power and influence without losing her integrity and pure-heartedness is triumphant. How can Mouret resist such a woman? Well, he can't.
    I have now christened my tablet in her honour.
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  • Happy Tapper
    4.0 out of 5 stars Zola
    Reviewed in Canada on 18 January 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Interesting writer who has escaped my "Books Read" file. Thank you PBS for running a series on Zola's "Paradise".
    Certainly a detailed writer and humorous.
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  • DeniseInDetail
    3.0 out of 5 stars English Translation of Zola's Ladies Paradise
    Reviewed in France on 3 December 2012
    Verified Purchase
    This is a reasonable translation into English from original French. I could have bought another translation which was probably better, but felt it was too expensive. Just depends how you feel about translations when reading. 6/10!
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  • Malena
    5.0 out of 5 stars Hervorragendes Buch
    Reviewed in Germany on 10 July 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Sehr interessante Geschichte über die ersten großen Ladengeschäfte in Paris, über Konsumismus, Werbetricks, Mobbing und die folgen einen steifen, an den Zeiten nicht angepassten Konservatismus. Besonders "lehrreich" für all diejenigen die behaupten, dass früher alles besser war und heute es nur um Geld, Profit, Konsum und Täuschung geht. Auch für alle die an Kaufrausch leiden und nicht beratungsresistent sind ;)
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  • Susan A Scott
    2.0 out of 5 stars Not a good version or translation
    Reviewed in Canada on 21 January 2018
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Print size is good. But there's no preface, no introduction, no information about the author, no mention of his other books in this series.
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