The fonds consists of notes and manuscript material for his Rougon-Macquart cycle of novels. Les Rougon-Macquart was set in France's Second Empire and depicted the effects of violence, alcoholism, and prostitution in two branches of a single family over five generations. The fonds includes: La Fortune Des Rougon, 1871 (The Fortune of the Rougions); La Curée, 1874 (The Rush for the Spoil); Le Ventre De Paris, 1874 (The Belly of Paris); La Conquête De Plassans, 1874 (The Conquest of Plassans); La Faute de L'Abbé Mouret, 1875; Son Excellence Eugène Rougon, 1876 (His Excellency Eugène Rougon); L'Assommoir, 1877 (The Dram Shop / The Gin Palace); Une Page d'Amour, 1878; Nana, 1880 (trans.); Pot-Bouille, 1882 (Restless House); Au Bonheur des Dames, 1883 (The Ladies' Paradise); La Joie de Vivre, 1884 (How Jolly Life Is); Germinal, 1885; L'Oeuvre, 1886 (The Masterpiece); La Terre, 1887 (The Soil); La Rêve, 1888 (The Dream); La Bête Humaine, 1890 (The Beast in Man); L'Argent, 1891 (Money); La Débâcle, 1892 (The Downfall); and Le Docteur Pascal, 1893 (Doctor Pascal).