Speculative Capital: Zola’s Repossession of Paris

Among the most notable spaces in Émile Zola’s La curée (1871-72) is the Saccards’ hothouse, which serves as both an exemplar of Second Empire Paris and a showcase for Zola’s most extravagantly imaginative scenes. This article locates the hothouse as a model for Zola’s bimodal vision of Paris in the Rougon-Macquart, one that incorporates Haussmann’s city but reconfigures it as the grounds for establishing Zola’s own literary empire.