15 h 25 minAudiobook2 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 15 h 25 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
He can control a locomotive at speed. Can he control his urge to kill?
Jacques Lantier drives the railway line between Paris and Le Havre, finding comfort in the demanding care of his locomotive, Lison. Away from the engine, desire brings a violent impulse he fears. Then a glimpse of a crime beside the track draws him into a murder investigation.
Roubaud, a railway official, and his young wife, Séverine, are caught in that crime. Their marriage rests partly on the protection of Grandmorin, whose connection with Séverine holds a dark history. As Jacques grows closer to her, love and the search for safety become entangled with jealousy and danger.
What you’ll discover
- An engine under strain Feel the heat, speed, and effort of railway work through Zola’s exact physical details.
- A witness drawn closer Follow Jacques as his uncertain glimpse makes him important to the investigation and brings him closer to Séverine.
- Love with a dangerous edge Meet Séverine, seeking protection and love, and Flore, whose attachment to Jacques grows fiercely possessive.
- The comfort of Lison Discover why Jacques gives his locomotive the care and affection missing from his private life.
- Discipline against violent impulse Explore the contrast between people who master powerful machines and impulses they cannot govern.
Who will love it
For readers who love dark crime novels, dangerous relationships, and the physical world of railways, with secret affairs, jealousy, and violent impulses driving the story.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
Who’s who
- Jacques LantierA railway engineer who finds steadiness in his work but fears a violent impulse linked to desire.
- Séverine RoubaudRoubaud’s young wife becomes involved in murder and seeks protection and love from Jacques.
- RoubaudA railway official whose jealousy drives him to violence and whose gambling deepens his troubles.
- FloreA young woman near the railway whose love for Jacques becomes fiercely possessive.
- LisonJacques’s locomotive receives his care and affection, giving him a sense of control absent from his private life.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 15 h 25 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 2 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear La Bête humaine in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
La Bête humaine
by Émile Zola · 1890
Jacques controls a powerful locomotive, but his urge to kill draws him into a married couple’s crime.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
The Monomaniac (La Bête Humaine) is a novel by Émile Zola about a railway engineer whose urge to kill becomes entangled with a married couple’s crime. Its trains, secret affairs, and murder investigation make a tense story about people who can run powerful machines but cannot master themselves.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Jacques Lantier works as a railway engineer on the line between Paris and Le Havre. He takes pride in his locomotive, Lison, and finds comfort in the skilled, demanding work of driving her. Away from the engine, he faces a frightening impulse: sexual desire can bring with it an urge to kill. He tries to keep his distance from women because he fears what closeness might awaken.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about La Bête humaine
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Monomaniac about?
The novel follows Jacques Lantier, a railway engineer troubled by an urge to kill, and his involvement with Séverine Roubaud after a railway murder. Their relationship joins sexual desire, jealousy, and the hope of escape to a crime that neither can easily leave behind.
What does La Bête Humaine mean?
La Bête Humaine means The Human Beast. The title points to the violent drives beneath apparently ordinary lives. Zola places those drives beside the railway’s precision and power, asking whether modern progress has made people any better at controlling themselves.
Is The Monomaniac part of Zola’s Rougon-Macquart series?
Yes. Published in 1890, it is the seventeenth novel in Zola’s twenty-book Rougon-Macquart series. Jacques Lantier belongs to the family whose lives connect the books. The murder story stands on its own, while his feared inheritance links it to the series’ concern with heredity.
The author
Émile Zola
1840–1902 · French novelist
Émile Zola (1840–1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, and poet. He was born in Paris, grew up in Aix-en-Provence, and later lived in Paris and Médan. He wrote Thérèse Raquin (1867), Nana (1880), and Germinal (1885). His twenty-novel series, Les Rougon-Macquart, appeared between 1871 and 1893.
More by Émile Zola
All 14 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
