Experimental Fictions constitutes the first serious attempt to explore the relationship between the two authors’ writing by challenging many traditional assumptions about Zola’s and Verga’s fictions. The author combines a close reading of some of their major novels with a broader look at the question of ideology. Ideology is studied in theoretical terms, beginning with Althusser, and in cultural context by looking at Verga’s and Zola’s position as intellectuals in the society of the time.