Naturalism books
Naturalism books to start from. Open one to see books like it, or tell BookSense what you loved for four picks made for you.
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New to the genre? These 5 are the books to read first.
Therese Raquin
Émile ZolaA adulterous affair and a murder, examined through the guilt and decline of the two lovers, shows the method Zola later named.
L'Assommoir (The Dram Shop)
Émile ZolaA Paris laundress's slide into poverty and drink, presented in working-class speech and detail, made Zola's reputation.
Nana
Émile ZolaA courtesan's rise and fall in Second Empire Paris, linking sexuality, money, and social rot.
Germinal
Émile ZolaA coal miners' strike in northern France, treated as a clash of hunger, class, and collective force.
Maggie
Stephen CraneA young woman from the New York slums is pushed toward prostitution and death by poverty and a brutal family.
Chosen and described with AI from our notes on the genre.
More naturalism books
- McTeague
McTeagueFrank Norris - Sister Carrie
Sister CarrieTheodore Dreiser - The Jungle
The JungleUpton Sinclair - The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of WrathJohn Steinbeck - Native Son
Native SonRichard Wright - The big picture
The big pictureSean M. Carroll2016 - Naturalistic inquiry
Naturalistic inquiryYvonna S. Lincoln1985 - The Universe Next Door
The Universe Next DoorJames W. Sire1976 - Four philosophies and their practice in education and religi
Four philosophies and their practice in education and religionJ. Donald Butler1951 - Worldviews in conflict
Worldviews in conflictRonald H. Nash1992 - The amateur naturalist's handbook
The amateur naturalist's handbookVinson Brown1948 - The sacred depths of nature
The sacred depths of natureUrsula Goodenough1998