Sex and murder are at the center of this classic novel by Zola.

You won't find a happy ending in this story about the slums of Paris.

The story of the rise (and fall—this is Naturalism) of a prostitute.

Coal miners go on strike, and all kinds of problems ensue.

Maggie's a good girl, but she's poor. This is her story.

War is rough. And the Civil War? Yikes! "Rough" doesn't begin to capture how awful it is. This novel takes us into the heart of it.

Greedy McTeague gets what's coming to him in this novel about the three M's: money, murder, and mayhem.

No, it's not a story about an actual octopus. It's a story about a railway company.

Nope, she's not a nun. She's an actress. This is the tale of her rise to stardom.

Even rich people have it rough sometimes. Lily Bart, the heroine of this novel, sure does.

The cold of Massachusetts gets into Ethan Frome's bones and, um, his life is ruined.

Oh no! Clyde Griffiths is on his way to the electric chair. Why? You'll have to read it to find out.

The tragic tale of two migrant workers, caught in the jaws of the Great Depression.

The Joad family just can't seem to survive against all the forces pitted against them.

We'll learn all about how racism messes us up in this study of discrimination.

A collection of essays exploring, you guessed it, Naturalism in the European novel.

In these twenty-eight critical essays, you'll find the most cutting-edge research on American Naturalism.

A nice study of the relationship between Realism and Naturalism.

Lookin' good there, Zola characters. We'll learn all about fashion, and the symbolism behind fashion, in this study of Zola's work.

Naturalism's connections to Romanticism and Gothic literature.