After all the trauma of last week I have now recovered my equilibrium and am glad to be back on Random. From my Shelves today features Ladies Paradise by Zola. I had read no Zola at all before reading this title, but somebody recommened this it and I decided to give it a go. I was delighted that I had made the effort as I thoroughly enjoyed this story all about the rise of a department store in Paris at the turn of the century.
The sole passion of Mouret, the owner of the Ladies Paradise, was the conquest of Woman. He wanted her to be queen in his shop, 'he had built this temple for her in order to hold her at his mercy'. To this end he develops a spectacular modern department store.
This is a totally gorgeous sensuous book with a deliberate overwhelming parade of the finest silks and satins, lace, carpets from every country, "long carpets from Isaphan, Teeran and Kermanshah a strange blossoming of peonies and palms, imagination running riot in a dream garden" trimmings "Spanish blonde lace as light as air, Brussels applique with large flowers on 
fine mesh", negligees, "white petticoats of every length;chemises made of plain calico, Irish linen and cambric" perfume, pots of pomades and rouge, jewellery.
fine mesh", negligees, "white petticoats of every length;chemises made of plain calico, Irish linen and cambric" perfume, pots of pomades and rouge, jewellery. The narrative is a total assault on the senses and this is the whole point. The rhythm of the scenes in the store during the febrile atmosphere of the sales, the women rushing round in a fever to buy what they want, the gasping with excitement, the heat, the sweat – well, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see what is intended here. Orgasmic is the only word.
Mouret exploits these desires and in his private life he too is the great seducer. But then he falls in love with an innocent shop girl, fresh from the country, Denise Baudu, and despite his wealth, luxury and the splendour of his store, it means nothing to him because she refuses him.
When the book is finished you feel completely wiped out, senses indulged and sated. It is all rather overwhelming and draining and I remember sitting back and thinking Blimey, phew…
Shortly after finishing the Ladies Paradise, by coincidence, the BBC decided to produce a dramatisation 'based' on the characters and events created by Zola. The press release at the time had this to say:
Set in England’s first department store, the series tells the rags-to-riches story of Denise Lovett (Joanna Vanderham, Above Suspicion), a young girl who works in the store and gets caught up in the charms of the modern world. Denise is a 19th-century Working Girl – big-hearted, smarter than she’s taken to be and more ambitious than those pretty eyes suggest.
It was dire. Died the death after one series and righly so.
And by the way after reading this you will realise that if you thought Loss Leaders in supermarkets and Pile 'em High and sell 'em cheap were new ideas, well you were wrong….
Turning the pages the other day I think I might have a re-read.
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