Thérèse Raquin

Adam Thorpe's unflinching translation brings Zola's dark and shocking masterwork to life

Mysterious disappearances, domestic cases, noiseless, bloodless snuffings-out . . . the law can look as deep as it likes, but when the crime itself goes unsuspected . . . oh yes, there's many a murderer basking in the sun . . .

When Thérèse Raquin is forced to marry the sickly Camille, she sees a bare life stretching out before her, leading every evening to the same cold bed and every morning to the same empty day. Escape comes in the form of her husband's friend, Laurent, and Thérèse throws herself headlong into an affair. There seems only one obstacle to their happiness: Camille. They plot to be rid of him. But in destroying Camille they kill the very desire that connects them. First published in 1867, Thérèse Raquin has lost none of its power to enthrall.