Thérèse Raquin

Thérèse Raquin (French pronunciation: [teʁɛz ʁakɛ̃]) is an early novel by French writer Émile Zola. The germ of the novel was present in his short story "Un Mariage d'Amour", published in December 1866. He then expanded the story into a novel, which appeared in serial form from August–October 1867 in the magazine L'Artiste. Later that year it was published in book form. Although it was Zola's third novel, Thérèse Raquin was the one that earned him fame and notoriety. The plot, with its focus on adultery and murder, was considered scandalous and described as "putrid literature" in a review in Le Figaro.

The novel tells the tale of a young woman, Thérèse Raquin, who is coerced by an overbearing aunt into a loveless marriage with her first cousin Camille. He is sickly and egocentric and when the opportunity arises, Thérèse enters into a turbulent, sordid affair with Camille's friend, Laurent. Despite their numerous trysts, Thérèse and Laurent are convinced they can only be truly happy if they are married. To do that, they must kill Camille, and so they carry out the murderous deed. The plan works – they wed two years after his death – but they are so haunted by guilt they begin to hate each other.

In Zola's preface to the second edition, published in 1868, he explained that his goal was "to study, not characters, but temperaments". Because of its detached, scientific approach, the novel is considered a seminal work in the movement known as literary naturalism. Zola adapted Thérèse Raquin for the stage in 1873. It has since been adapted for other media including opera, musical theater, film, radio and television.