L'Assommoir

The story of Gervaise Macquart, running away to Paris with her shiftless lover Lantier to work as a washerwoman in a hot, busy laundry in one of the seedier areas of the city. The novel considered one of Zola's masterpieces, a study of alcoholism and poverty in the working-class districts of Paris. It established Zola's fame and reputation throughout France and the world.