Au Bonheur des Dames follows widower Octave Mouret, owner of Au Bonheur des Dames, whose retail innovations and store expansions threaten the existence of all the neighborhood shops, and Denise Baudu, a 20-year-old woman working in sales at the department store. Octave's aim is to overwhelm the senses of his female customers, forcing them to spend by bombarding them with an array of buying choices and by juxtaposing goods in enticing and intoxicating ways. Despite his contempt for women, Octave finds himself slowly falling in love with Denise, whose refusal to be seduced by his charms further inflames him.

Au Bonheur des Dames is part of the Rougon-Macquart series by Émile Zola. It was first serialized in the periodical Gil Blas and published in novel form by Charpentier in 1883. Zola designed the Rougon-Macquart novels to demonstrate how heredity and environment operate on the members of one family over the course of the Second French Empire. In this case, the environment is the department store. The novel has been adapted for film, theatre, and as a radio play for the BBC.

This case laminate collector's edition includes a Victorian inspired dust-jacket.