Set in France's Second Empire, the series traces the 'environmental' influences of violence, alcohol and prostitution which became more prevalent during the second wave of the Industrial Revolution. Unlike Balzac who in the midst of his literary career resynthesized his work into La Comédie Humaine, Zola from the start at the age of 28 had thought of the complete layout of the series. More than half of Zola's novels were part of a set of 20 books collectively known as Les Rougon-Macquart.
Émile François Zola was an influential French novelist, the most important example of the literary school of naturalism, and a major figure in the political liberalization of France.
