Blood, Sex and Money

A BBC Radio 4 Serialisation of Zola's Epic Saga

By: Émile Zola

Narrated by: Paul McGann, Alison Steadman, Samuel West, Anna Maxwell Martin, David Schofield, full cast, Emma Rigby, Angela Griffin, Robert Lindsay, Glenda Jackson, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Holliday Grainger, Fenella Woolgar, Georgina Campbell

Length: 23 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

Glenda Jackson stars in this award-winning BBC Radio series, inspired by literature's greatest ever whistleblower, Émile Zola, and his epic saga of the Rougon-Macquart family

First published between 1870 and 1893, Émile Zola’s 20-book cycle chronicling four generations of the Rougon-Macquarts was a shocking exposé of the decadence, degradation and moral decay of 19th-century France. It included some of his greatest novels, among them his masterpiece, Germinal.

These innovative, ambitious dramas, first broadcast on Radio 4 over 24 hours in 2015-16, is a radical reimagining of Zola’s classic series, introducing us to 104-year-old matriarch, Dide, imprisoned in an asylum in southern France. Trapped, but omniscient, she broods over her ‘family of wolves’. As a young woman, she gave birth to two dynasties that exemplified French society. One legitimate – rich, powerful, obsessive and corrupt. The other illegitimate – poor, vulnerable, weak and depraved.

In these three seasons, themed around blood, sex and money, we come to know the members of her extended family intimately – the good, the bad and the misguided. As we follow their highs and lows, we are taken deep into the heart of France’s ‘Second Empire’ and drawn into the tragic, farcical reign of Napoleon III as it marches forward towards a modern, industrialised society.

This groundbreaking series won Best Drama at the BBC Radio and Music Awards 2016 and Best Adaptation at the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2017, and boasts a star cast including Robert Lindsay, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Holliday Grainger, Samuel West, Anna Maxwell Martin, Paul McGann, Georgina Campbell, Jack Lowden and Alison Steadman.

Also included is a 30-minute bonus programme, The Life and Work of Émile Zola, in which Glenda Jackson travels to Paris to discover how Zola’s experience and the physical and cultural landscape in which he lived influenced his great novels.

Written by Émile Zola

Dramatised by Dan Rebellato, Oliver Emanuel, Martin Jameson and Lavinia Murray

Produced and directed by Pauline Harris, Polly Thomas, Kirsty Williams, Nadia Molinari and Gary Brown

Executive Producer: Melanie Harris

Series Producer: Susan Roberts

Sound designer: Eloise Whitmore

A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4

©2019 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2019 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Critic reviews

"Unmissable." (Daily Telegraph)

Addictive, Edifying Fun - Truly Outstanding

I cannot recommend this series highly enough. The dramatizations are tautly written, convincingly performed, and just spellbinding, really. It dramatizes the twenty novels that constitute Zola's Les Rougon-Macquart series, his masterwork, and these performances got me so interested that, in the month since listening, I've already read three of the original novels and plan to read more.

To assist those interested and those who are in the midst of listening, here is my overview of which chapters present which of Zola's novels.

Part 1: Blood
Ch. 1 / Ep. 1: Animals / based on Zola's The Fortune of the Rougons
Ch. 2 / Ep. 2: Fire / based on Zola's The Conquest of Plassans
Ch. 3 / Ep. 3: Food / based on Zola's The Belly of Paris
Ch. 4 / Ep. 4: Politics / based on Zola's His Excellency Eugène Rougon part 1
Ch. 5 / Ep. 5: Drink / based on Zola's L'Assommoir
Ch. 6 / Ep. 6: Art / based on Zola's The Masterpiece part 1
Ch. 7 / Ep. 7: Masterpiece / based on Zola's The Masterpiece part 2
Ch. 8 / Ep. 8: Fury / based on Zola's La Bête humaine part 1
Ch. 9 / Ep. 9: Trains / based on Zola's La Bête humaine part 2

Part 2: Sex
Ch. 10 / Ep. 1 Performance / based on Zola's Nana part 1
Ch. 11 / Ep. 2 Power / based on Zola's His Excellency Eugène Rougon part 2
Ch. 12 / Ep. 3 Family / based on Zola's The Kill
Ch. 13 / Ep. 4 Lovesick / based on Zola's The Dream
Ch. 14 / Ep. 5 Innocence / based on Zola's The Sin of Father Mouret
Ch. 15 / Ep. 6 Jealousy / based on Zola's A Love Episode
Ch. 16 / Ep. 7 Affairs / based on Zola's Pot-Bouille
Ch. 17 / Ep. 8 Lust / based on Zola's The Ladies Paradise
Ch. 18 / Ep. 9 Flesh / based on Zola's Nana part 2

Part 3: Money
Ch. 19 / Ep. 1 Crash / based on Zola's Money
Ch. 20 / Ep. 2 Massacre / based on Zola's Germinal part 1
Ch. 21 / Ep. 3 Trapped / based on Zola's Germinal part 2
Ch. 22 / Ep. 4 Swindle / based on Zola's The Bright Side of Life
Ch. 23 / Ep. 5 Inheritance / based on Zola's The Earth part 1
Ch. 24 / Ep. 6 Reap / based on Zola's The Earth part 2
Ch. 25 / Ep. 7 Fate / based on Zola's La Débâcle part 1
Ch. 26 / Ep. 8 Apocalypse / based on Zola's La Débâcle part 2
Ch. 27 / Ep. 9 Ghosts / based on Zola's Doctor Pascal

Unfortunately, it does not actually include the "30-minute bonus programme, The Life and Work of Émile Zola," though the product description would lead you to believe otherwise.

Terrific!

It’s a long listening commitment, but just amazing. From great humor to gut wrenching and all of the human twists and turns in between. I loved it.

Blood, Sex and Money was stupendous

A truly wonderful listen. Glenda Jackson was a joy to listen to as well. Now to find my next Emile Zola listen.

Glenda Jackson at her finest.

First, let me say that the performances in this are excellent and happily the listener is spared the usual trope of if it was written in French then everyone needs to play it with a cringey fake accent. Glenda Jackson takes the central role that carries all the way through the saga. And she flawlessly captures the part of the matriarch that sees the lives of the future generations. I don’t want to spoil any listening and therefore I’ll leave the description of the stories there. I feel it needs to be mentioned however that there are some dark tales here and is not a cozy listen. Once aware of that and the social commentary of the times that is harsh it is possible to enjoy a masterpiece.

Love this

Fantastic audio performance! Perfect for the lockdown!!! An excellent adaption of the classic books that I love!

Excellent Stellar Cast

Epic Zola brilliantly dramatised and performed with excellent performances including Glenda Jackson as Aunt Dide - grim and funny at times.

Excellent

Incessantly miserable but listenable. Like a painful itch that you shouldn't scratch but must carry on scratching. Is it a BBC adaption? I can't remember, seems like it due to the quality of the delivery. Not dated. Great collection of stories.

A highlight of BBC Radio drama

This is one of the most ambitious and satisfying things I've ever listened to. The performances, writing and direction are immense and it is a brilliant evocation of French history and culture. Everyone in it is fabulous, but Glenda Jackson is by turns terrifying, hilarious and everything in between.

Zola’s fans will be disappointed

Whilst the performance is excellent, this can no longer be said to be the work of Emile Zola.

The scenarists have taken too many liberties with the original storyline.

No one can summarise 20 novels in 23h of listening so cuts had to be made. This made sense.

However rewriting part of the story was unnecessary.

Characters now appear in parts of the story where they don’t belong. Some characters have been given new lives, and a number of characters have been given new lineage !!!

Clotilde is the daughter of Aristide Saccard not Jean Macquart and therefore she is the actual niece of Dr Pascal.

Angélique is not the daughter of Maxime and Renee but the daughter of Sidonie. Angélique is not really dreaming. She does really meet the son of the archbishop. They do fell in love. She does on her actual wedding day.

Sidonie never marries and is certainly not the mother of Maurice.

Aunt Dide stop speaking the day she is sent to the Tulettes and she certainly never leaves this place, She dies there 2 days after watching the son of Maxime die in front of her.

What I probably found most offending was the conclusion, which betrays what Emile Zola actually tried to achieve with these novels and which was the work of his life.

Please enjoy this book for what it is, an entertaining story. But if you are interested in Emile Zola’s work, I recommend you read his books.

What a tale

I loved the books and now I also love the play!! Forever more will Deedee have the voice and laugh of Glenda Jackson!

All of life is here

This is a superb piece of work, from conception to performance, via creation. Will bear repeated ‘reading’ - maybe even on a permanent loop. Has sent me back to Zola’s novels, which I look forward to enjoying, perhaps even more …

Not my sort of thing, but...

Came across this when it was on the radio. Never read any Zola and never thought I would, but absolutely blown away by both the story and the adaptation. The actors are wonderful, the use of accents makes it really accessible, it's absolutely gripping. Had to pull over to the side of the road to cry several times. Would recommend this to anyone, especially if you think fancy vintage French writing is not for you.

An epic saga!

I’ve read a few of Zola’s books in isolation and loved them. This BBC dramatisation of his series of 20 books chronicling the life of a 19th century French family exceeded my expectations. The performances are brilliant, the stories full of the drama, poverty, revenge, regret and tragedy typical of the time. Loved it!