Emile Zola Reading Order

5 books (1984–2018)

This complete anthology series by Emile Zola comprises five books published between 1984 and 2018, spanning ghost stories, erotic literature, classic memoirs, cat stories, and biographical essays about writers. The books should be read in publication order, beginning with The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories and concluding with Writers: Their Lives and Works.

Start with The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories, the first of 5 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories 1984Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Erotic Tales of the Victorian Age 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Erotic Classics I: Kama Sutra, The Memoirs of Fanny Hill and Others 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Dover Anthology of Cat Stories 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Writers: Their Lives and Works 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

7 books (1877–2018)

The Collections series comprises seven volumes of Emile Zola's works spanning from 1877 to 2018, collecting the French author's short stories and selected pieces alongside comprehensive compilations of his literary output. These books should be read in publication order, beginning with Dead Men Tell No Tales and progressing through various anthologies and collected works that showcase Zola's range across romance, literary fiction, and non-fiction writing. The series is complete and serves as an accessible entry point for readers exploring Zola's diverse body of work.

Start with Dead Men Tell No Tales, the first of 7 books in the Collections series.

#	Title
1	Dead Men Tell No Tales 1877Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Collected Works of Emile Zola 1938Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Best Known Works of Emile Zola 1941Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Four Short Stories By Emile Zola 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Stories for Ninon 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Four Short Stories 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Attack on the Mill and Other Stories 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1899–1903)

Emile Zola's four-book social romance series spans from 1899 to 1903, with three works comprising the complete cycle: Fruitfulness, Work, and Truth. These interconnected novels should be read in publication order to fully appreciate how Zola develops his themes across the collection. Written during the later period of his career, these literary romances explore social issues through interconnected narratives and character arcs that build throughout the sequence.

Start with Fruitfulness and read in order.

#	Title
1	Fruitfulness 1899Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Work 1901Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Truth 1903Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (1880–2013)

This five-book non-fiction collection by Emile Zola spans from 1880 to 2013 and should be read in publication order. The series brings together Zola's essays, manifestos, and writings on significant historical and artistic topics, including his famous "I Accuse!" piece related to the Dreyfus Affair, his reflections during exile, and his critical observations on art. The series is complete.

Start with The Experimental Novel and Other Essays, the first of 5 books in the Non-Fiction series.

#	Title
1	The Experimental Novel and Other Essays 1880Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	I Accuse! 1898Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Dreyfus Affair 1898Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Notes from Exile 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Looking at Manet 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

20 books (1870–1893)

The Rougon-Macquart is a complete series of 20 novels by Émile Zola published between 1870 and 1893, following the interconnected lives of two branches of a French family across generations during the Second Empire and Third Republic. The novels are best read in publication order, beginning with The Fortune of the Rougons, as each installment builds upon the social and political developments established in earlier works. While many entries can function as standalone novels with their own plots and settings, reading them sequentially reveals the author's ambitious exploration of how heredity, environment, and historical forces shape individual destinies across multiple social classes and professions. This panoramic social chronicle stands as one of the most significant achievements of 19th-century literary realism.

Start with The Fortune of the Rougons, the first of 20 books in the Rougon-Macquart series.

#	Title
1	The Fortune of the Rougons 1870Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Kill / The Rush for the Spoil 1872Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Belly of Paris / The Fat and the Thin 1873Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Conquest of Plassans 1874Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Sin of Father Mouret / The Sinful Priest / Abbe Mouret's Transgression 1875Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	His Excellency Eugene Rougon 1876Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	A Love Episode / A Page of Love / A Love Story 1877Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Drinking Den / The Dram Shop / L'Assommoir / The Gin Palace 1877Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Nana 1880Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Restless House 1882Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Bright Side of Life / How Jolly Life Is / Zest for Life 1883Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Ladies' Paradise 1883Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Germinal 1885Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Masterpiece / His Masterpiece 1886Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	The Soil / Earth 1887Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Dream 1888Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	The Beast in Man / The Beast Within 1890Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Money 1891Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	The Downfall / The Debacle 1892Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Doctor Pascal 1893Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (1880–2025)

Emile Zola's Short Stories and Novellas series comprises four works published between 1880 and 2025, spanning romance and literary fiction. The collection should be read in publication order, beginning with The Flood and continuing through The Death of Olivier Becaille, Three Short Stories, and For a Night of Love. This ongoing series showcases Zola's mastery of shorter narrative forms alongside his better-known novels.

Start with The Flood, the first of 4 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.

#	Title
1	The Flood 1880Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Death Of Olivier Becaille 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Three Short Stories 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	For a Night of Love 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

11 books (1865–2018)

Emile Zola's Standalone Novels collection comprises eleven independent literary works published between 1865 and 2018, available in complete form and best read in publication order. Beginning with Claude's Confession and concluding with A Dead Woman's Wish, these novels showcase Zola's exploration of romance and human relationships across varied settings and social contexts. Each work stands alone as a separate story, allowing readers to engage with individual titles without prerequisite knowledge, though reading them chronologically provides insight into the author's evolving literary style and concerns.

Start with Claude's Confession, the first of 11 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	Claude's Confession 1865Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Mysteries of Marseilles 1867Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Therese Raquin 1867Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Madeleine Ferat 1868Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Miller's Daughter 1880Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Heirs of Rabourdin 1894Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Travail: Labor 1901Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Fête at Coqueville 1907Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	A Mad Love 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Piping Hot! 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	A Dead Woman's Wish 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

12 books (2020–2021)

The Year of the Cat is a twelve-book anthology series published between 2020 and 2021, featuring contributions from multiple authors including Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Dean Wesley Smith, and various other writers. Each volume centers on a different feline theme, from "A Cat of Cozy Situations" through "A Cat of Romantic Soul," blending romance, literary fiction, and imaginative storytelling. The series appears to be complete and should be read in publication order to experience the full collection as intended.

Start with A Cat of Cozy Situations(By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch,Ed Gorman,Carole Nelson Douglas,Dean Wesley Smith,W.W. Jacobs,Mary A. Turzillo,Dory Crowe), the first of 12 books in the The Year of the Cat series.

#	Title
1	A Cat of Cozy Situations(By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch,Ed Gorman,Carole Nelson Douglas,Dean Wesley Smith,W.W. Jacobs,Mary A. Turzillo,Dory Crowe) 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	A Cat of Disdainful Looks(By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch,Rudyard Kipling,Stefon Mears,Dean Wesley Smith,Mark Twain,Ray Vukcevich,John Adams,Jodi Lyn Nye) 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	A Cat of Heroic Heart(By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch,Carole Nelson Douglas,E. Nesbit,Jamie Ferguson,Lisa Silverthorne,Stefon Mears,Dean Wesley Smith,Liz Pierce) 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	A Cat of Perfect Taste(By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch,Stefon Mears,Dean Wesley Smith,Saki,Charles Dudley Warner,Philip Gilbert Hamerton,Kari Kilgore) 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	A Cat of Roving Nature(With: Kristine Kathryn Rusch,Annie Reed,Stefon Mears,Dory Crowe,C.J. Erick,Sylvia Warner) 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	A Cat of Space and Time(By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch,Andre Norton,Annie Reed,Lisa Silverthorne,Dean Wesley Smith,Cordwainer Smith,Geoffrey A. Landis,Mary Turzillo,Daemon Crowe) 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	A Cat of Strange Lands(By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch,E. Nesbit,Annie Reed,Stefon Mears,Dean Wesley Smith,Kent Patterson,Meyari McFarland,Leigh Saunders) 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	A Cat of a Different Color(By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch,Annie Reed,Louisa Swann,Lisa Silverthorne,Dean Wesley Smith,Ray Vukcevich,Dory Crowe) 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	A Cat of Artistic Sensibilities(By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch,Henry Slesar,Joan Aiken,Annie Reed,Stefon Mears,Dean Wesley Smith,Mary Turzillo) 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	A Cat of Fantastic Whims(By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch,E. Nesbit,Jamie Ferguson,Annie Reed,Lisa Silverthorne,Dean Wesley Smith,Geoffrey A. Landis,Liz Pierce) 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	A Cat of Feral Instincts(By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch,Arthur Conan Doyle,Edgar Allan Poe,Brigid Collins,Dean Wesley Smith,Pamela Sargent,Jamie McNabb,Mary Turzillo,N. Margaret Campbell) 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	A Cat of Romantic Soul(By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch,Anthea Sharp,Annie Reed,Lisa Silverthorne,Bonnie Elizabeth,Dean Wesley Smith,Kari Kilgore) 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1896–2014)

Emile Zola's Three Cities trilogy consists of three complete novels published between 1896 and 2014, following a interconnected narrative that should be read in publication order. The series begins with Rome, followed by Lourdes and Paris, each exploring distinct settings and themes within Zola's literary fiction framework. This finished series blends romance and social observation as Zola examines European cities and the lives intertwined within them.

Start with Rome and read in order.

#	Title
1	Rome 1896Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Lourdes 1914Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Paris 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible