The Mysteries of Marseille
Émile Zola
Jan 2008 · Mondial
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About this ebook
"The Mysteries Marseille" recounts the love of Philippe Cayol, poor, untitled, republican, and of young Blanche de Cazalis, the niece of De Cazalis, a millionaire, politician and all-powerful in Marseille. Philippe's brother, Marius, devotes himself to protecting the two lovers - and the child Blanche gave birth to before entering a convent - from the anger of De Cazalis. --- "The Mysteries of Marseille" appeared as a serialized story in "Le Messager de Provence" in 1867, while Zola was writing "Therese Raquin". As a work of his youth, it was thus also a commissioned work on which Zola "cut his teeth." In it, he himself saw the "amount of will and work" that he had to expend to elevate himself to "the literary effort of the Rougon-Macquart novels." --- Indeed, in this popular novel, typical of the genre in its various and unexpected twists and turns, we can already see his style, his palate for real life, his indignation about injustice, and his art of depicting social strata (the wealthy, the clergy, the deviants, the common man) as well as events (the revolution of 1848, the cholera epidemic). With this canvas as a background, he has painted a breathtaking adventure, the thrilling story of an impossible love, that resembles the love of liberty.
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About the author
Zola was the spokesperson for the naturalist novel in France and the leader of a school that championed the infusion of literature with new scientific theories of human development drawn from Charles Darwin (see Vol. 5) and various social philosophers. The theoretical claims for such an approach, which are considered simplistic today, were outlined by Zola in his Le Roman Experimental (The Experimental Novel, 1880). He was the author of the series of 20 novels called The Rougon-Macquart, in which he attempted to trace scientifically the effects of heredity through five generations of the Rougon and Macquart families. Three of the outstanding volumes are L'Assommoir (1877), a study of alcoholism and the working class; Nana (1880), a story of a prostitute who is a femme fatale; and Germinal (1885), a study of a strike at a coal mine. All gave scope to Zola's gift for portraying crowds in turmoil. Today Zola's novels have been appreciated by critics for their epic scope and their visionary and mythical qualities. He continues to be immensely popular with French readers. His newspaper article "J'Accuse," written in defense of Alfred Dreyfus, launched Zola into the public limelight and made him the political conscience of his country.
Andrew Moore assisted James McNair on the last 10 of his cookbooks, including recipe development and editing. James and Andrew divide their time between a home in Northern California and their lodge on the north shore of Lake Tahoe.
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