Therese Raquin is a clinically observed‎,‎ sinister tale of adultery and murder among the lower orders in nineteenth‎-century Paris‎.‎ Zola‎'‎s dispassionate dissection of the motivations of his characters‎,‎ mere ‎'‎human beasts‎'‎ who kill in order to satisfy their lust‎,‎ is much more than an atmospheric Second Empire period‎-piece‎.‎ Many readers were scandalized by an approach to character‎-drawing which seemed to undermine not only the moral values of a deeply conservative society‎,‎ but also the whole code of psychological description on which the realist novel was based‎.‎ Together with the important ‎'‎Preface to the Second Edition‎'‎ in which Zola defended himself against charges of immorality‎,‎ Therese Raquin stands as a key early manifesto of the French Naturalist movement‎,‎ of which Zola was the founding father‎.‎ Even today‎,‎ this novel has lost none of its power to shock‎.‎ This new translation is based on the second edition of 1868‎.‎ The Introduction situates the novel in the context of Naturalism‎,‎ medicine‎,‎ and the scientific ideas of Zola‎'‎s day‎.‎ ABOUT THE SERIES‎:‎ For over 100 years Oxford World‎'‎s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe‎.‎ Each affordable volume reflects Oxford‎'‎s commitment to scholarship‎,‎ providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features‎,‎ including expert introductions by leading authorities‎,‎ helpful notes to clarify the text‎,‎ up‎-to‎-date bibliographies for further study‎,‎ and much more‎.‎