The Kill, La Curée

A French hunting term, denoting the portion of game thrown to the hounds who killed it, the novel’s original title La Curée (1872) neatly foreshadows Zola’s exploration of the rapacious, animalistic greed of the newly rich bourgeoisie during the Second Empire of Napoleon III. The main protagonist, Saccard, takes his own spoils from corrupt property speculation in the wake of Baron Haussmann’s radical reconstruction of Paris. Against a backdrop of modernisation, extravagant luxury, political intrigue and sexual immorality, Saccard treats close relationships as money-making opportunities and loved ones as mere commodities. As one character puts it: ‘You see, everything is fine, as long as you make money from it.’