Alexandre Dumas

Robin Buss

This translation originally published: 2003.

The Count of Monte Cristo

Émile Durkheim

Emile Durkheim’s On Suicide (1897) was a groundbreaking book in the field of sociology. Traditionally, suicide was thought to be a matter of purely individual despair but Durkheim recognized that the phenomenon had a social dimension. He believed that if anything can explain how individuals relate to society, then it is suicide: Why does it happen? What goes wrong? Why do certain social, religious or racial groups have higher incidences of suicide than others? As Durkheim explored these questions he became convinced that abnormally high or low levels of social integration lead to an increased likelihood of suicide. On Suicide was the result of his extensive research. Divided into three parts - individual reasons for suicide, social forms of suicide and the relation of suicide to society as a whole - Durkheim’s revelations have fascinated, challenged and informed readers for over a century.

On Suicide

Émile Zola

Part of the "Les Rougon-Macquart" series about two branches of a French family traced through several generations. The behaviour of the two families is shown to be conditioned by environment and inherited characteristics, chiefly drunkenness and mental instability.

The Drinking Den

Cocteau, Les Enfants Terribles

Crime and punishment on the dark side of French society, as reflected in the silver screen.

Robin Buss

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