Pot Luck (Pot-Bouille)

The tenth novel in the Rougon-Macquart series by Émile Zola, «Pot Luck (Pot-Bouille)» was first published in serially format in the periodical «Le Gaulois» between January and April 1882. The title of the work, Pot-Bouille, is a 19th-century French slang term for a large cooking pot used for preparing stews. It is a term that really has not direct translation in English. The title of the novel which recounts the activities of the residents of a block of flats in the Rue de Choiseul over the course of two years is meant to reflect the greed, ambition and depravity which lie beneath a thin veil of upstanding moral character. The residents of this block of flats are comprised of principally five families: The Campardons, The Duveyriers, The Josserands, The Vabres, and The Pichons. New resident 22-year-old Octave Mouret who has taken a salesman's job at a nearby shop, moves into the building and causes a stir as he pursues the married women of the community.