Edmond de Goncourt’s four solo novels are not simply extensions of the Goncourt brothers’ joint project, but attempts to deviate from the Naturalism with which their name had come to be associated. By analysing paratexts, the relationship between documentation and fiction, as well as plot devices and themes, this study links the evolution of Goncourt’s fiction to wider literary debates surrounding Naturalism, Decadence and the renewal of the novel in fin de siècle France. In bringing Goncourt’s writings to an English-speaking public, it will be of interest to students and scholars of the literary history of late-nineteenth-century France. Contents Acknowledgements References I. Introduction Towards a New Novel II. Paratexts Titles: Novel Transformations Prefaces and Literary History III. Facts and Fictions Documentary Processes Les Frères Zemganno: Author as Acrobat La Faustin: Origins and Heredity Chérie: Female Documents IV. Language and Forms Plot Development Textual Voices Language and the Literary Field Natural and Artificial Expression V. Conclusion Conclusion Bibliography Index