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The Beast in Man
The Beast in Man
The Beast in Man
Audiobook15 hours

The Beast in Man

Written by Emile Zola

Narrated by Peter Joyce

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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About this audiobook

Sex, betrayal, murder and corruption form the basis of this sensational novel by one of the leading French authors of the nineteenth century.

Jacques Lantier is a man with an hereditary homicidal lust. When he sees Roubaud and his wife Severine slit the throat of a wealthy nobleman it is the catalyst for a string of murders in a convoluted plot full of horror and suspense. Severine starts an affair with Jacques to keep him from informing the authorities, but the couple soon realise that Roubaud has become an obstacle to their happiness. The malevolent Flore, feeling spurned and betrayed, takes her revenge in catastrophic fashion. If Jacques could cure his illness with just one murder all might be well - but who will be his victim? And can he stop there?Zola constantly reminds us that underneath the veneer of education and an accepted moral code the savage beast will always remain.

Characteristically, the writer doesn’t shy away from the raw sexual element and baser human impulses, confronting us with a truth that while not always palatable, is always enthralling. It is a brutal study of individuals derailed by primal forces beyond their control which, at the close, leaves us questioning our belief in ourselves as civilised creatures.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 11, 2009
ISBN9781860153334
The Beast in Man
Author

Emile Zola

Émile Zola was a French writer who is recognized as an exemplar of literary naturalism and for his contributions to the development of theatrical naturalism. Zola’s best-known literary works include the twenty-volume Les Rougon-Macquart, an epic work that examined the influences of violence, alcohol and prostitution on French society through the experiences of two families, the Rougons and the Macquarts. Other remarkable works by Zola include Contes à Ninon, Les Mystères de Marseille, and Thérèse Raquin. In addition to his literary contributions, Zola played a key role in the Dreyfus Affair of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. His newspaper article J’Accuse accused the highest levels of the French military and government of obstruction of justice and anti-semitism, for which he was convicted of libel in 1898. After a brief period of exile in England, Zola returned to France where he died in 1902. Émile Zola is buried in the Panthéon alongside other esteemed literary figures Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas.

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