Thérèse Raquin

Adam Thorpe’s version deserves to become the standard English text – Anthony Cummins * Daily Telegraph *
Anyone who thinks the British contingent brought lurid literature effing and blinding its way to life in the 1990s should be force-fed Emile Zola’s 1867 novel Thérèse Raquin, which, in Adam Thorpe’s stark new translation, is revealed in all its queasy glory as a shockingly effective literary mash-up of pulp fiction, melodrama and grimly unflinching social realism – Tina Jackson * Metro *
The translator of this new edition in English, Adam Thorpe…brings an unusual freshness and zip to the task… This handsome Vintage Classics edition contains some useful editorial matter, but not Zola’s own preface to the second edition. In that sense, then, it comes close to returning us to the baldness (and boldness) of the original Naturalist document * Times Literary Supplement *
[Adam Thorpe] brings an unusual freshness and zip to the task, which goes some way towards returning us to that sense of unnerving immediacy which the young Zola’s novel would have given its readers in 1867 – Nicholas White * Times Literary Supplement *
This story seeps into your insides – Kate Winslet
I love this because it’s the story of how you can’t escape the inevitabilities of love and it’s just a fantastic piece of writing – Sue Perkins * Express *
By merging elements of the gothic and tragic with a study of petit-bourgeois banality, Zola created a work of enduring fascination * Observer *
It was attacked by critics of the day as stinking filth and a foul sewer. Little wonder, then, that it became an instant bestseller and I’ll admit I was completely riveted by its melodramatics from start to finish * Daily Mail *
A thrilling read – Joseph Fiennes * Express *
A very dark book but a magnificent read – Kirsty Wark

Adam Thorpe was born in Paris in 1956. His first novel, Ulverton, appeared in 1992. He has published two books of stories and ten further novels, most recently Missing Fay (2017), and six poetry collections.

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