short biography of emile zola

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Émile Zola was born in Paris, France on 2nd April 1840, the son of François Zola, an engineer and his wife Emilie Aubert. He grew up in Aix-en-Provence, attending the (now named) Collège Mignet, then the Lycée Saint Louis in Paris. Under the harsh straits of poverty after his father died Zola worked various clerical jobs. He then moved on to writing literary columns for Cartier de Villemessant’s newspapers. A sign of things to come he was harsh and outspoken in his criticism of Napoleon. He was also harshly anti-Catholic .

One of Zola’s first works published was his autobiographical La Confession de Claude (1865), which attracted many critics and brought negative attention to him including the police. Guilt and shame haunt Thérèse Raquin (1867), another of Zola’s works to inspire many film and television adaptations. Madeleine Férat was published a year later. Zola further explores the scientific model in Le Roman Experimental (The Experimental Novel) (1880). He next wrote his Les Trois Villes series consisting of Lourdes (1894), Rome (1896), and Paris (1898).

Perhaps the most sensational and certainly politically influential work of Zola’s is “J’accuse” (I Accuse!) (1898), his open letter to then French president Félix Faure. Accusing the French government of anti-semitism it was published on the front page of the Paris newspaper `L’Aurore’ (The Dawn) on 13 January 1898 in response to the Dreyfus affair, a scandal that had divided the country in two as the rest of the world watched on uneasily. Captain Alfred Dreyfus was a Jewish military officer in the French army, hastily tried and convicted of treason in 1894. Realizing their error in haste and bureaucratic bungling, the government was not willing to back down and release him from imprisonment on Devil’s Island till many years later. Zola’s article of exposure and ensuing furore led to France’s enactment of the law in 1905 that separates church and state.

Zola was convicted of libel and after his internationally covered trial sentenced to a year long jail term but fled to England. He returned to France when the charge against him was dismissed. Dreyfus was exhonerated and regained full honors with the military. Back in France Zola continued writing, including his Les Quatre Évangiles (Four Gospels); Fécondité (Fruitfulness) (1900), Travail (Labor) (1901), Vérité (Truth) (1903), and Justice (unfinished). Émile Zola died on 29 September 1902 at his home in Paris under what some claim to be suspicious circumstances of carbon monoxide poisoning by stopping up his chimney. He was first interred at the Cimetière de Montmartre in Paris, then later moved to The Panthéon in the Latin Quarter of Paris, France.

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Emile Zola Books In Order

Publication order of four social romances books, publication order of rougon-macquart books, publication order of three cities books, publication order of standalone novels, publication order of short stories/novellas, publication order of collections, publication order of non-fiction books, publication order of anthologies.

Emile Zola was a renowned French author, journalist, playwright, practitioner of naturalism literary school, and contributor to theatrical naturalism. He was particularly popular for writing the Rougon-Macquart series, Three Cities series, Four Social series, and numerous standalone novels, short story collections, novellas, nonfiction, and anthologies. Zola had played an important role in France’s political liberalization and the wrongly accused & convicted army officer named Alfred Dreyfus’ exoneration. The highlight of his life and career was the Nobel Prize in the field of Literature in the first and second years of its introduction. Author Zola was born in 1840 in Paris, France. His father, Francesco Zola, was an engineer from Italy and his mother was a French housewife named Emilie Aubert.

When Zola was 3 years old, his family relocated to the Aix-en-Provence. In 1847, his father expired when he was just 7 years old. In 1858, the Zola family shifted to Paris, where Zola was joined by his childhood friend named Paul Cezanne. Zola’s mother had hoped to make him a lawyer, but he failed the qualifying examination. When he started writing for the first time, he chose the romance genre. Before making a name for himself in the field of writing, Zola was employed at a shipping firm on minimum wage. He also worked in Hachette publisher’s sales department. Zola used to write art and literary reviews for newspapers along with his novel-writing assignments. When Zola ventured into political journalism, he publicly showcased his dislike for Napoleon III because he used his position for personal gains.

In 1862, Zola has become a natural citizen of France. In 1865, he came across Eleonore Alexandrine Meley and took her as his mistress. The two got married in 1870. Meley stayed with Zola throughout his life and played an important role in his work’s promotion. Zola and Meley remained childless all their life. Meley confessed to Zola that she had a girl child before she met him, but abandoned her because she was not able to take care of her. Zola tried his best to find the girl, but did not succeed. It was later found that the girl had died shortly after her birth. In 1888, Zola shifted his focus towards photography. He had achieved the expertise of a professional in a short duration. In the same year, Meley hired a seamstress named Jeanne Rozerot to reside with them in their Medan-based home.

Jeanne and Zola fell in love and married each other. They became the parents of two children named Jacques and Denise. A few years later, Jeanne moved back to Paris, but Zola continued to visit her and provide support for her and her children. In 1891, Meley discovered Zola’s affair and became adamant in divorcing her husband. During the early stage of his writing career, Zola penned numerous essays and short stories, 4 plays, and 3 novels. His earlier novels include Contes A Ninon, which was released in 1864. Following the release of his autobiographical novel called La Confession de Claude, he attracted a lot of police attention and was subsequently fired by Hachette.

The death of Zola occurred on September 29, 1902, due to carbon monoxide poisoning that resulted because of improper chimney ventilation. Alfred Dreyfus attended the funeral after initially deciding not to come. At the time of Zola’s death, he had finished writing a novel about the Dreyfus trial. He had also planned to write a sequel, but that could not be completed. The blame for Zola’s death was put on a number of enemies because they had previously tried to kill him on many occasions. However, the authorities could not prove anything. For over a week after his death, notable writers, politicians, artists, and scientists kept visiting his house and expressing sympathy.

Initially buried in Paris’ Cimetiere de Montmartre, Zola’s mortal remains were moved to the Pantheon and rested beside Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo. In 1937, a film was made and released based on the life of Zola. It was titled The Life of Emile Zola and starred Paul Muni in the lead role. The film received good reviews and was awarded an Oscar in the category of the Best Picture. The works of author Zola inspired many operas, including the ones by Gustave Charpentier. Inspired by social Manicheanism, idealistic socialism, and heredity concepts, his works are believed to resonate with Manet, Flaubert, and Nadar. Zola is considered to have had a significant influence on the works of authors such as Thompson, Talese, Wolfe, Mailer, Capote, Didion, and several others. Wolfe claimed that his primary goal to write fiction was to describe the contemporary society in the style of Charles Dickens, John Steinbeck, and Zola.

The Three Cities series written by author Emile Zola is comprised of a total of 3 books released between 1894 and 1898. It is based in three different cities, each with a different story. The debut book of the series is entitled ‘Lourdes’. It was released by the Prometheus Books in 2000, after its original release in 1894. In this novel, Zola has given a moving description of a Lourdes pilgrimage. He has mentioned vivid characters and has given a subtle commentary on the sufferings of the pilgrims. An important aspect of this novel’s story is the faith in miracles as the last hope to get relief from pain. Zola was inspired to write this book by his own experiences during a trip to Lourdes. The novel is divided into five parts, each corresponding to one day in the five-day train journey from Paris to Lourdes as well as the return journey.

Another excellent book of this series is known as ‘Paris’. It was published by the Gallimard Education in 2002, following its first publishing in 1898. This book features the central characters in the form of Detective Mondesir and Anarchist Salvatore. The novel opens by showcasing that Detective Force Chief, Detective Mondesit, told the entire story. He explained how a secret agent that Anarchist Salvatore had reached a Montmarte tavern just after the bird flew away and how to get lucky in Salvat’s presence at a distance from the tavern. Also, Detective Mondesir told how Salvat stealthily managed to hide in the Force’s hope of catching him in the place where he was hiding.

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