La Curée

• I: Renée Saccard is riding with Maxime, her stepson au bois, is bored with her life as a beautiful rich society woman, and begins to be attracted by the idea of sleeping with Maxime. At a party, she spies on Maxime and Louise de Mareuil, a strange, tragic girl who is expected to die young, and whose father seeks political advantage in exchange for a dowry of a million francs.
• II: Back in time, Aristide Rougon arrives in Paris, changes his name to Saccard. He works at the Hotel de Ville, and has access to plans for the redevelopment of Paris by Haussmann and plans to speculate thereupon. His wife dies, and his sister, Mme Sidonie, proposes that he marry Renée, the daughter of who has been raped, and whose aunt, Elisabeth, has conceived a plan to placate Renée's father, by finding a man to marry him in exchange for a large dowry, primarily the form of buildings. Aristide will "manage" Renée's fortune by selling the buildings for redevelopment after having greatly inflated their apparent value.
• III: Maxime arrives in Paris, charms Renée and her circle of friends. She decides to educate him in the ways of society. Aristide continues his property dealings and concludes a deal to marrying Maxime to Louise. Renée, received at the Tuilleries for a ball is noticed by the Emperor.
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