Theresa Raquin

Trapped in a joyless marriage to her sickly cousin Camille, Thérèse Raquin comes alive only when she begins a violent affair with his friend Laurent. The two lovers drown Camille to be free of him, but the killing binds them together far more cruelly than marriage ever could, as guilt, revulsion, and the dead man’s face poison every hour they spend in each other’s company. Zola called the book a study of temperament rather than character, watching his figures like a scientist observing animals driven by nerves and blood. Cold, claustrophobic, and shocking to its first readers, it announced the naturalist movement and remains one of the most gripping novels of crime and conscience. Free to download as a PDF or EPUB.