Émile Zola
Born	April 2, 1840 (1840-04-02) Paris, France
Died	September 29, 1902 (aged 62) Paris, France
Occupation	Novelist, playwright, journalist
Nationality	French
Genres	Naturalism
Notable work(s)	Les Rougon-Macquart
Influences Honoré de Balzac, Claude Bernard, Charles Darwin, Jules Michelet, Hippolyte Taine
Influenced George Orwell, Tom Wolfe, naturalist literature

Émile Zola (IPA: [emil zɔˈla]) (2 April 1840 – 29 September 1902) was an influential French writer, the most important example of the literary school of naturalism, and a major figure in the political liberalization of France and in the exoneration of the falsely accused and convicted Army officer Alfred Dreyfus. Events 68 - Galba, Governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Year 1840 ( MDCCCXL) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends Nationality is a relationship between a Person and their State of Origin, Culture, association Affiliation and/or Loyalty This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. A literary genre is a category of literary composition Genres may be determined by Literary technique, tone, Content, or even (as in the case of fiction Naturalism is a movement in Theatre, film, and Literature that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality, as opposed to such Les Rougon-Macquart is the collective title given to French novelist Émile Zola 's twenty-novel cycle Claude Bernard ( July 12, 1813 – February 10, 1878) was a French Physiologist. Charles Robert Darwin (February 12 1809 &ndash April 19 1882 was an English naturalist, who realised and demonstrated that all Species of life Jules Michelet ( 21 August 1798 &ndash 9 February 1874) was a French Historian. Hippolyte Adolphe Taine ( April 21, 1828 - March 5, 1893) was a French Critic and Historian. Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950 who used the Pseudonym George Orwell, was an English writer Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr (born March 2, 1931 in Richmond, Virginia) known as Tom Wolfe, is a Best-selling Naturalism is a movement in Theatre, film, and Literature that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality, as opposed to such This article is a general introduction to French literature For detailed information on French literature in specific historic periods see the separate historical articles in the Medieval French literature is for the purpose of this article Literature written in Oïl languages (particularly Old French and early Middle For more information on historical developments in this period see Renaissance, History of France, and Early Modern France. French literature of the 17th century &mdashthe so-called Grand Siècle &mdashspans the reigns of Henry IV of France, the Regency of Marie de Medici French literature of the 18th century usually refers to the literature written between 1715, the year of the death of King Louis XIV of France, and 1798 the year French literature of the nineteenth century is for the purpose of this article literature written in French from (roughly 1799 to 1900 French literature of the twentieth century is for the purpose of this article literature written in French from (roughly 1895 to 1990 Contemporary French literature is French literature roughly from the 1990s to Today. Chronological list of French language authors (regardless of nationality by date of birth Events 68 - Galba, Governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Year 1840 ( MDCCCXL) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms Naturalism is a movement in Theatre, film, and Literature that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality, as opposed to such Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 &ndash 12 July 1935 was a French artillery officer of Jewish background whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason

Biography

Émile François Zola was born in Paris in 1840. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city His father, François Zola, was the son of an Italian engineer with a French wife, and his mother was Émilie Aubert. The' Italian people' are a Southern European Ethnic group located primarily in Italy, Switzerland, France and by virtue of a wide-ranging The family moved to Aix-en-Provence, in the southeast, when he was three years old. Aix (ɛks or Aix-en-Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Ais de Provença in classical norm or Ais de Prouvènço in Mistralian norm to distinguish Four years later, in 1847, his father died, leaving his mother on a meagre pension. In 1858, the Zolas moved to Paris, where Émile became friends with the painter Paul Cézanne and started to write in the romantic style. Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Zola's widowed mother had planned a law career for him, but he failed his Baccalauréat examination. The baccalauréat (bakaloʁeˈa often known in France colloquially as le bac or le bachôt, is an academic qualification which

Before his breakthrough as a writer, Zola worked as a clerk in a shipping firm, and then in the sales department for a publisher (Hachette). Louis Christophe François Hachette ( May 5, 1800 - July 31, 1864) was a French Publisher. He also wrote literary and art reviews for newspapers. As a political journalist, Zola did not hide his dislike of Napoleon III, who had successfully run for the office of President under the constitution of the French Second Republic, only to misuse this position as a springboard for the coup d'état that made him emperor. Napoléon III, also known as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (full name Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte) (20 April 1808 9 January 1873 was the first President History Revolution of 1848 See also Mid-nineteenth century France The industrial population of the Faubourgs The French Coup d'état of December 2nd 1851 staged by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (at the time President of the Second French Republic) ended in the successful dissolution

Career

During his early years, Émile Zola wrote several short stories and essays, four plays and three novels. Among his early books was Contes à Ninon, published in 1864. With the publication of his sordid autobiographical novel La Confession de Claude (1865) attracting police attention, Hachette fired him.

After his first major novel, Thérèse Raquin (1867), Zola started the long series called Les Rougon Macquart, about a family under the Second Empire. Thérèse Raquin is a Novel by Émile Zola, first published in 1867. The Second French Empire or Second Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870 between the Second

Literary output

More than half of Zola's novels were part of this set of 20 collectively known as Les Rougon-Macquart. Les Rougon-Macquart is the collective title given to French novelist Émile Zola 's twenty-novel cycle Unlike Balzac who in the midst of his literary career resynthetized his work into La Comédie Humaine, Zola from the outset at the age of 28 had thought of the complete layout of the series. La Comédie humaine is the title of Honoré de Balzac 's (1799 – 1850 multi-volume collection of interlinked novels and stories depicting French society Set in France's Second Empire, the series traces the "environmental" influences of violence, alcohol, and prostitution which became more prevalent during the second wave of the industrial revolution. In Chemistry, an alcohol is any Organic compound in which a Hydroxyl group ( - O[[hydrogen H]]) is bound to a Carbon Prostitution is the act of performing Sexual activity in exchange for Money. The series examines two branches of a single family: the respectable (that is, legitimate) Rougons and the disreputable (illegitimate) Macquarts, for five generations.

As he described his plans for the series, "I want to portray, at the outset of a century of liberty and truth, a family that cannot restrain itself in its rush to possess all the good things that progress is making available and is derailed by its own momentum, the fatal convulsions that accompany the birth of a new world. "

Although Zola and Cézanne were friends from childhood and in youth, they broke in later life over Zola's fictionalized depiction of Cézanne and the Bohemian life of painters in his novel L'Œuvre (The Masterpiece, 1886). The term bohemian, of French origin was first used in the English language in the nineteenth century to describe the untraditional lifestyles of marginalized and impoverished Artists L'œuvre is the fourteenth novel in the Rougon-Macquart series by Émile Zola.

From 1877 onwards with the publication of l'Assommoir, Émile Zola became wealthy–he was better paid than Victor Hugo, for example. L'Assommoir (1877 is the seventh novel in Émile Zola 's twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart. Victor-Marie Hugo ( ( February 26, 1802 – May 22, 1885) was a French Poet, Playwright, Novelist He became a figurehead among the literary bourgeoisie and organized cultural dinners with Guy de Maupassant, Joris-Karl Huysmans and other writers at his luxurious villa in Medan near Paris after 1880. Guy de Maupassant (gi də mopasɑ̃ (5 August 1850 &ndash 6 July 1893 was a popular 19th-century French Writer and considered one of the fathers of the modern Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans ( February 5, 1848 – May 12, 1907) was a French Novelist who published his works as Germinal in 1885, then the three 'cities', Lourdes in 1894, Rome in 1896 and Paris in 1897, established Zola as a successful author. Germinal (1885 is the thirteenth novel in Émile Zola 's twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart.

Self-proclaimed leader of French naturalism, Zola's works inspired operas such as those of Gustave Charpentier, notably Louise in the 1890s. Gustave Charpentier ( June 25, 1860 – February 18, 1956) was a French Composer, best known for his Opera Louise is an Opera in four acts by Gustave Charpentier to an original French Libretto by the composer His works, inspired by the concepts of heredity (Claude Bernard), social manichaeism and idealistic socialism, resonate with those of Nadar, Manet and subsequently Flaubert. Claude Bernard ( July 12, 1813 – February 10, 1878) was a French Physiologist. Manichaeism (in Modern Persian fa-Arab آیین مانی Āyin e Māni; Chinese zh 摩尼教 was one of the major Gnostic Religions originating Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Gustave Flaubert (gystaːv flobɛːʁ in French ( December 12, 1821 &ndash May 8, 1880) was a French writer who is counted among

Activism on behalf of Captain Dreyfus

Émile Zola risked his career and even his life on 13 January 1898, when his "J'accuse" [1], [2] was published on the front page of the Paris daily, L'Aurore. Events 532 - Nika riots in Constantinople. 888 - Odo Count of Paris becomes King of the Franks Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common J'accuse ("I accuse" was an Open letter published on January 13 1898 in the newspaper L'Aurore by the influential writer L’Aurore (French for “The Dawn” was a literary liberal and socialist newspaper published in Paris France from 1897 to 1914 The newspaper was run by Ernest Vaughan and Georges Clemenceau, who decided that the controversial story would be in the form of an open letter to the President, Félix Faure. Georges Benjamin Clemenceau ( Mouilleron-en-Pareds ( Vendée) 28 September 1841 24 November 1929 was a French statesman physician and Journalist An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience or a letter intended for an individual but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally Félix François Faure (30 January 1841&ndash16 February 1899 was President of France from 1895 until his death Émile Zola's "J'accuse" accused the highest levels of the French Army of obstruction of justice and antisemitism by having wrongfully convicted a Jewish artillery captain, Alfred Dreyfus, to life imprisonment on Devil's Island in French Guiana. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 &ndash 12 July 1935 was a French artillery officer of Jewish background whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason For other uses see Devils Island. Devil's Island (Île du Diable is the smallest and northernmost island of the three Îles du Salut French Guiana (Guyane française officially fr ''Guyane'' is an Overseas department (French département d'outre-mer, or DOM) of France Zola declared that Dreyfus' conviction and removal to an island prison came after a false accusation of espionage and was a miscarriage of justice. The case, known as the Dreyfus affair, divided France deeply between the reactionary army and church, and the more liberal commercial society. The Dreyfus Affair a Political scandal which divided France from the 1890s to the early 1900s The ramifications continued for many years; on the 100th anniversary of Zola's article, France's Roman Catholic daily paper, La Croix, apologized for its antisemitic editorials during the Dreyfus Affair. La Croix is a French, Roman Catholic, daily Newspaper. It is published in Paris and distributed throughout the country with a circulation Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility As Zola was a leading French thinker, his letter formed a major turning-point in the affair.

Zola was brought to trial for criminal libel on 9 June 1899, and was convicted on 23 February, sentenced, and removed from the Legion of Honor. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits Year 1899 ( MDCCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Rather than go to jail, Zola fled to England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Without even having had the time to pack a few clothes, he arrived at Victoria Station on July 19. After his brief and unhappy residence in London, from October 1898 to June 1899, he was allowed to return in time to see the government fall.

Portrait by Édouard Manet (1868)

The government offered Dreyfus a pardon (rather than exoneration), which he could accept and go free and so effectively admit that he was guilty, or face a re-trial in which he was sure to be convicted again. Although he was clearly not guilty, he chose to accept the pardon. Zola said, "The truth is on the march, and nothing shall stop it. " In 1906, Dreyfus was completely exonerated by the Supreme Court.

The 1898 article by Émile Zola is widely marked in France as the most prominent manifestation of the new power of the intellectuals (writers, artists, academicians) in shaping public opinion, the media and the State. An intellectual (from the adjective meaning "involving thought and reason" is a person who tries to use his or her Intelligence and analytical thinking, That the manufacture of consent is capable of great refinements no one I think denies The power of intellectuals lasted well into the 1980s, with a peak in the 1960s with Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (21 June 1905 &ndash 15 April 1980 commonly known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (ʒɑ̃ pol saʁtʁə was a French Albert Camus ( (7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960 was an Algerian born French Author, philosopher, and journalist who won the Nobel prize

Death

Zola died in Paris on 29 September 1902 of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a stopped chimney. Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after the inhalation of Carbon monoxide gas He was 62 years old. His enemies were blamed, but nothing was proven. (Decades later, a Parisian roofer claimed on his deathbed to have closed the chimney for political reasons). ^[1] Zola was initially buried in the Cimetière de Montmartre in Paris, but on 4 June 1908, almost six years after his death, his remains were moved to the Panthéon. Montmartre Cemetery ( Fr: Cimetière de Montmartre is a famous cemetery located at 37 Avenue Samson in the 18th ''arrondissement'' of Paris Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Events 781 BC - The first historic Solar eclipse is recorded in China. Year 1908 ( MCMVIII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The Panthéon ( Latin Pantheon, from Greek Pantheon meaning "All the gods" is a building in the Latin Quarter

Gravestone of Émile Zola at cimetière Montmartre; his remains are now interred in the Panthéon. The Panthéon ( Latin Pantheon, from Greek Pantheon meaning "All the gods" is a building in the Latin Quarter

The biographical film The Life of Émile Zola won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1937. The Life of Émile Zola is a 1937 Biographical film of famous French author Émile Zola. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. The film focuses mainly on Zola's involvement in the Dreyfus Affair.

In January 1998, President Jacques Chirac held a memorial to honor the centenary of J'accuse.

Quotations

"And let us never forget the courage of a great writer who, taking every risk, putting his tranquility, his fame, even his life in peril, dared to pick up his pen and place his talent in the service of truth. " — Jacques Chirac

"The artist is nothing without gift, but the gift is nothing without work. " - Émile Zola

“If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, I will answer you: I am here to live out loud. ” - Émile Zola^[2]

"Zola descends into the sewer to bathe in it, I to cleanse it. " — Henrik Ibsen

"Civilization will not attain perfection until the last stone from the last church falls on the last priest. "Ibsen" redirects here For other people named Ibsen see Ibsen (disambiguation. " — Émile Zola

". . . but I affirm, with intense conviction, the Truth is on the march and nothing will stop it. " — Émile Zola

"The action I am taking is no more than a radical measure to hasten the explosion of truth and justice. I have but one passion: to enlighten those who have been kept in the dark, in the name of humanity which has suffered so much and is entitled to happiness. My fiery protest is simply the cry of my very soul. Let them dare, then, to bring me before a court of law and let the enquiry take place in broad daylight!" — Émile Zola, J'accuse! (1898)

Bibliography

• Contes á Ninon, (1864)
• La Confession de Claude (1865)
• Thérèse Raquin (1867)
• Madeleine Férat (1868)
• Le Roman Experimental (1880)

• Les Rougon-Macquart
  • La Fortune des Rougon (1871)
  • La Curée (1871–72)
  • Le Ventre de Paris (1873)
  • La Conquête de Plassans (1874)
  • La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret (1875)
  • Son Excellence Eugène Rougon (1876)
  • L'Assommoir (1877)
  • Une Page d'amour (1878)
  • Nana (1880)
  • Pot-Bouille (1882)
  • Au Bonheur des Dames (1883)
  • La Joie de vivre (1884)
  • Germinal (1885)
  • L'Œuvre (1886)
  • La Terre (1887)
  • Le Rêve (1888)
  • La Bête humaine (1890)
  • L'Argent (1891)
  • La Débâcle (1892)
  • Le Docteur Pascal (1893)

• Les Trois Villes
  • Lourdes (1894)
  • Rome (1896)
  • Paris (1898)

• Les Quatre Evangiles
  • Fécondité (1899)
  • Travail (1901)
  • Vérité (1903, published posthumously)
  • Justice (unfinished)

Footnotes

External links

• Works by Émile Zola at Project Gutenberg
• Works by Émile Zola in digital reading
• J´accuse ...! Émile Zola, Alfred Dreyfus, and the greatest newspaper article in history", by Donald E. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Wilkes Jr. from Flagpole Magazine
• J´accuse by Émile Zola, In English and French
• (French) Biography, bibliography
• Émile Zola works: text, concordances and frequency list
• The Rougon-Macquart Novels of Emile Zola (for English-speaking readers) provides an American enthusiast's introduction, insights and synopses.