"Zijn Excellentie Eugène Rougon" by Émile Zola is a novel serialized in 1876. Set in Second Empire France, it follows ambitious politician Eugène Rougon and his cronies as they maneuver for political power and personal gain. At the story's center is a volatile dynamic between Rougon and the cunning Clorinde Balbi, who desires power but must operate from the shadows. As Rougon's influence grows through scandal and manipulation, loyalties shift and schemes multiply in Napoleon III's government, where authority becomes both weapon and obsession. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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