La Joie de vivre

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. La joie de vivre (The Joy of Living) is the twelfth novel in the Rougon-Macquart series by Émile Zola. It was serialized in the periodical Gil Blas in 1883 before being published in book form by Charpentier in February 1884. It was translated into English by Ernest A. Vizetelly as How Jolly Life Is! in 1888 (reissued in 1901 as The Joy of Life, reprinted in 2006) and by Jean Stewart as Zest for Life in 1955. The main character is Pauline Quenu (b. 1852), the daughter of Parisian charcutiers Lisa Macquart and M. Quenu, who are central characters in Le ventre de Paris (published 1873). Pauline plays a small part in that novel. The novel opens in 1863 and covers about 10 years. Ten-year-old Pauline's parents have died, and she comes to live with the Chanteaus, relatives on her father's side, in the seaside village of Bonneville, some 10 kilometers from Arromanches-les-Bains in Normandy.