Nana

The story of the courtesan Nana, who has no singing or acting talent, yet gains fame as a theater actress thanks to her beauty. She has a succession of wealthy lovers, whom Nana torments with her whims and deprives of their money and dignity. A raw story full of naturalistic scenes, it is the ninth novel in the Rougon-Macquart cycle and loosely follows on from The Killer. Zola managed to portray the environment of brothels and cabarets in a very colourful way. but above all, a society where morality has no place, but is instead full of hypocrisy, shamelessness, and rudeness, even if outwardly covered by gloss and luxury. In this prose, Zola presents himself as a master of literary naturalism.