Émile Zola: A Life of Commitment

Content : Aix-en-Provence, 1852. Émile Zola, the son of a deceased Italian engineer, is regularly bullied at his new school—until a sturdy fellow student comes to his defence. That boy is Paul Cézanne. Thus begins a great friendship. They do not yet know that one will become a writer and the other a painter, each among the most important of their century.

Zola grows up, experiences poverty, takes on a series of small jobs, and eventually becomes a clerk for Louis Hachette. He writes his first articles for La Presse, his first art critiques. His pen grows bold, his vision triumphant. He becomes a witness to his time, going into the field, meeting men and women of all walks of life, before turning them into the abundant characters of an ambitious and phenomenal literary fresco… Zola, the engaged author, but also the friend, the husband, and the father.

A vivid portrait of one of the greatest French writers.