Emile Zola 
L’Assommoir 

"L’Assommoir" (1877) is the seventh novel in Emile Zola’s twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart. Usually considered one of Zola’s masterpieces, the novel-a study of alcoholism and poverty in the working-class districts of Paris-was a huge commercial success and helped establish Zola’s fame and reputation throughout France and the world. (Excerpt from Wikipedia)