The Ladies' Paradise

The Ladies’ Delight or The Ladies’ Paradise is the ele­venth novel in the Rougon-Macquart series by Émile Zola. It was first serialized in the periodical Gil Blas and published in novel form by Charpentier in 1883. The Ladies’ Paradise is a sequel to Pot-Bouille. The novel is set in the world of the department store, an innovative development in mid-nineteenth cen­tury retail sales. Zola models his store after Le Bon Marché, which consolidated under one roof many of the goods hitherto sold in separate shops. The narrative details many of Le Bon Marché’s innovati­ons, including its mail-order business, its system of commissions, its in-house staff commissary, and its methods of receiving and retailing goods.