The Ladies Paradise by Emile Zola

'Mouret's sole passion was the conquest of Woman. He wanted her to be queen in his shop, he had built his temple for her in order to hold her at his mercy.'

The Ladies' Paradise (Au Bonheur des Dames) recounts the spectacular development of the modern department store in late nineteenth-century Paris. The store is a symbol of capitalism, of the modern city, and of the bourgeois family; it is emblematic of consumer culture and the changes in sexual attitudes and class relations taking place at the time. 

Octave Mouret, the store's owner-manager, masterfully exploits the desires of his female customers. In his private life too he is the great seducer. But when he falls in love with the innocent Denise Baudu, he discovers she is the only one of the salesgirls who refuses to be commodified.

---------------------------------

The Ladies Paradise explores the beginning of the modern shopping experience where large department stores rule over the smaller independent retailer.  It shows the effect a large store with somewhat unlimited funding and power can have on the lives of those within the smaller stores, who are unlucky enough to be based nearby.  Although it is set in the late nineteenth-century I still found it reflected todays consumer driven world. Whereas the book looks at department stores providing a cheaper and more efficient way of shopping, we are currently experiencing a similar situation with supermarkets and online retailers. 

It was a very interesting read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I took my time and really savored the story which was well worth it.  In terms of characters there is a vast array of wonderfully colourful people such as managers, shop owners, shop assistants and rich willing shoppers etc. However the story centres around two main characters, one male and one female. Firstly we meet Denise, she is a kind, gentle, independent young woman left with the responsibility of raising her younger brothers after her parents deaths. I liked Denise, she was strong and proud in a very quiet and feminine way. It was interesting to watch how her deep seated religious and moral beliefs guided her in a world where temptation in terms of spending, overindulgence and personal relationships were a daily occurrence. 

Octave Mouret is in many ways the polar opposite to Denise, where she is homely and content with simply being financially stable and a mother figure to her brothers, Octave wants near world domination. He is a widower, business man, and craves both power and money in vast amounts with little care of how he attains these things or who he ruins to do it. Octave is accustomed to getting what he wants, when he wants it and does so with little restraint.  This becomes more and more obvious as the story progresses and creates some interesting and entertaining situations. 

The book is very descriptive and goes into great details which really helps immerse the reader into the time period and workings of the store. If you enjoy clothes, fabrics, ribbons, lace and silk then this is definitely a book you should look at. It goes into wonderfully detailed descriptions of the workings of the department store, the strict hierarchy and rules the staff must follow and the effects the emerging business has on the smaller stores around it. It brings the story and the characters alive in a colourful array of fabrics and personalities that combine to make an amazing story.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. 

Overall it was a very good book and the story was detailed and engaging. The combination of well written characters, a strong storyline and fantastic descriptive writing lead to a book that smothers the reader in the sights, sounds and smells of Paris in the late nineteenth-century.