“Piping Hot” (french - “Pot-Bouille”) is the tenth novel in the Rougon-Macquart series by Émile Zola. It was first published in 1887. 
The novel is an indictment of the mores of the bourgeoisie of the Second French Empire. It is set in a Parisian apartment building, a relatively new housing arrangement at the time and its title (roughly translating as stew pot) reflects the disparate and sometimes unpleasant elements lurking behind the building’s new façade.