Thérèse Raquin (1867) is a novel by French author Émile Zola. Initially serialized in L'Artiste, a popular French literary magazine, Thérèse Raquin, Zola's third novel, earned the author widespread fame and critical condemnation for its scandalous content and unsparing vision of human sexuality and violence. Thérèse Raquin effectively launched Zola's career as a leading practitioner of literary naturalism, and has since been adapted countless...

"American novelist Tom Ricks ... arrives in Paris determined to renew a relationship with his estranged wife and daughter. When a longed-for meeting goes poorly, he ends up in a seedy hostel on the outskirts of the city. Unable to pay for his room and board, he agrees to work as a night guard at a warehouse or the proprietor ... and spends the hours writing elaborate, imaginative letters to his daughter. One evening, after he's invited to a literary...