This violent, hard-driving, almost melodramatic novel was one of Zola's vast Rougon Macquart series, in which he set out to be the Balzac of the late 19th century. It has been made into at least one film, something to which it lends itself well, particularly in the scenes set on the big locomotives which were almost a symbol of the times. There are some notably unpleasant characters, and Zola's rigidly deterministic view of human nature sometimes makes for doom and gloom, but overall the energy and conviction of the narrative more than atone for any myopia in his vision.