Octave Mouret (Pot-Bouille and The Ladies' Paradise) is the epitome of a middle class social climber, but his success as a retail magnate makes him much closer in character to Eugene Rougon or Aristide Saccard. At the end of POT LUCK, he marries the owner of a successful drapery establishment. Though handsome and charming, Octave is rebuffed by Valérie Vabre and his boss's wife Madame Hédouin before beginning a passionless affair with Madame Pichon. In Le docteur Pascal, the final novel in the series set in 1872-1873, Octave and Denise are married and have three children. Octave Mouret, the creator of Au bonheur, is a character of Zolaesque origins, predating the writing of Au bonheur, and too much an imaginary assemblage to take for either Aristide Boucicaut or the founders of the Louvre. Both have Octave Mouret as a central character. But that big-box bully has a softer side in his love for the admirable Denise Baudu, who works in his store. In the earlier novel, he was a young salesman on the make, both in his profession and with the young women in his apartment building. The novel follows the adventures of 22-year-old Octave Mouret, who moves into the building and takes a salesman's job at a nearby shop, The Ladies' Paradise (Au Bonheur des Dames). It's been a long time since I read William Thackeray's novel, but I think Ms. Sharp had a decent quality or two. Books with Octave Mouret. No photos have been uploaded yet. Octave Mouret in Emile Zola's Ladies' Delight? Octave Mouret has appeared in the following books: The Ladies' Paradise. Octave Mouret has appeared in the following books: The Ladies' Paradise ... edit descriptions of this character Octave Mouret's photo gallery. The Ladies' Paradise by. Octave Mouret in Emile Zola's compelling The Ladies' Delight is an ambitious, ruthless businessman whose constant expanding of his Parisian department store drives nearby mom-and-pop shops into ruin. He's a retail magnate from hell, but -- unlike Ms. Spragg -- he could genuinely fall in love and appreciate the person he fell in love with (the not-wealthy Denise Baudu). Octave also appears briefly or is mentioned in La joie de vivre and L'œuvre. Octave's brother is the priest Serge (La faute de l'Abbé Mouret), who served as a guardian to their mentally challenged sister Desirée. In The Belly of Paris, we have another character that crosses the lines: Lisa Macquart Quenu.