The Disappearance of Émile Zola

May 29, 2017
Rosen (We’re Going to a Bear Hunt) reveals two Émile Zolas in this frustrating but absorbing read. In 1898 the French novelist published an inflammatory open letter, the famous “J’Accuse,” in a Paris newspaper, protesting that Jewish army officer Alfred Dreyfus had been wrongly convicted of espionage. Zola was convicted of libel and, at the advice of friends, fled to England to avoid a prison term. What he thought would be a brief exile turned into almost a year away. Rosen chronicles that time: Zola disliked England’s food, climate, and architecture and missed his family, a complicated ménage that included his childless wife and the much younger mistress with whom he had two children. He comes across in the book’s early sections as a spoiled, self-absorbed narcissist, but later on Rosen brings to life a different man—the brilliant, fearlessly honest novelist and courageous opponent of anti-Semitism. This section includes material on Zola’s earlier visit to England, in 1893, when he triumphantly defied calls to censor his work. One wishes Rosen had started here, supplying this background to ameliorate the difficult domestic Zola. All the same, this is a worth account, with the added treat of a reprint of both a short story Zola wrote while in England and a translation of “J’Accuse.”

July 1, 2017
A chronicle of Emile Zola's exile in England after the novelist's involvement in the Dreyfus affair.In 1894, French army captain Alfred Dreyfus was found guilty of passing military secrets to Germany, stripped of his rank, and sentenced to prison on Devil's Island in French Guiana. Four years later, Zola argued for Dreyfus' innocence in "J'Accuse," an open letter to France's prime minister that was published on the front page of the newspaper L'Aurore. Zola not only claimed that Dreyfus, who was Jewish, couldn't have passed along the secrets, but he also accused the French army and government of corruption and anti-Semitism. When Zola was convicted of libel, fined 3,000 francs, and sentenced to a year in prison, he fled to a series of locations in London and the English countryside. In this well-researched history, Rosen (Children's Literature/Goldsmiths, Univ. of London; What is Poetry?: The Essential Guide to Reading and Writing Poems, 2016, etc.), a British poet, broadcaster, and former Children's Laureate, documents Zola's activities while in England, which included working on the novel Fecondite, indulging his passion for photography, and, most painfully, writing home. Zola left behind his wife, Alexandrine, and his mistress, Jeanne Rozerot, the mother of his two young children, Jacques and Denise. Rosen draws from many sources, including the adult Denise's memoirs and Zola's many letters home, in which he expresses concerns over Jacques' osseous tuberculosis and laments that he and Jeanne won't be together for their 10th anniversary. Rosen digresses too often with unnecessary details about Zola's family life, but the book is still a thoughtful examination of anti-Semitism and French jurisprudence in the late 19th-century. The author also tells his story with great wit, as when he writes that Zola cycled through villages so perfectly neat that he "wondered where the English hid their poor people." Zola had a knack for turbulence, both in his fiction and in his personal life. This lively account documents one of the most turbulent and consequential episodes of all.

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2017

In writing J'Accuse, French novelist Emile Zola (1840-1902) sought justice for Alfred Dreyfus, a French Jewish army officer imprisoned for treason with no evidence. Zola accused the French government and military of anti-Semitism and corruption in their conviction of the innocent Dreyfus. His altruistic actions resulted in a jail sentence Zola intended to serve. However, in July 1898, he fled to London and remained exiled for 11 months. Rosen (children's literature, Goldsmiths, Univ. of London; We're Going on a Bear Hunt) uses this period of exile as the main focus of this remarkable book. Drawing on correspondence, biographies, and newspaper accounts, he presents this difficult time in the author's life. Zola spoke little English and despised British cuisine. Separated from his wife and also his mistress (and the children produced from that relationship), Zola managed to continue writing despite his misery. Rosen not only captures Zola's despair but also describes the inaccuracies found in newspaper accounts about his whereabouts. This work further reveals the divisiveness of French society during this period, exacerbated by the Dreyfus affair. Includes English translations of J'Accuse and a short story written during Zola's time in exile. VERDICT For all readers interested in 19th-century France and French literature.--Erica Swenson Danowitz, Delaware Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Media, PA

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.