Nana

Nana is one of Émile Zola's best-known novels. The title character is the first prostitute of the stage, the great vagabond who achieves great success in the social spotlight, despite—or perhaps precisely because—she lacks any artistic talent. The daughter of an alcoholic father and a washerwoman, Nana is a mediocre stage actress, but with a Venusian body and a flamboyant sexuality. She is the perfect type of high-class prostitute, a courtesan of French high society during the Second Empire who enriches herself through the sex trade.