Émile Zola, página 7 de 36

IN submitting to the English-speaking public this second volume of M. Zolas trilogy "Lourdes, Rome, Paris," I have no prefatory remarks to offer on behalf of the author, whose views on Rome, its past, present, and future, will be found fully expounded in the following pages. That a book of this character will, like its forerunner "Lourdes," provoke considerable controversy is certain, but comment or rejoinder may well be postponed until that controversy has arisen. At present then I only desire to say, that in spite of the great labour which I have bestowed on this translation, I am sensible of its shortcomings, and in a work of such length, such intricacy, and such a wide range of subject, it will not be surprising if some slips are discovered. Any errors which may be pointed out to me, however, shall be rectified in subsequent editions. I have given, I think, the whole essence of M. Zolas text; but he himself has admitted to me that he has now and again allowed his pen to run away with him, and thus whilst sacrificing nothing of his sense I have at times abbreviated his phraseology so as slightly to condense the book. I may add that there are no chapter headings in the original, and that the circumstances under which the translation was made did not permit me to supply any whilst it was passing through the press; however, as some indication of the contents of the bookwhich treats of many more things than are usually found in novelsmay be a convenience to the reader, I have prepared a table briefly epitomising the chief features of each successive chapter. E. A. V.

Zola subtituló al ciclo de veinte novelas dedicado a Los Rougon-Macquart, «historia natural y social de una familia bajo el Segundo Imperio». La familia de los Rougon pretendía dibujar un inmenso fre

Qu''est-ce qui nous fascine dans la vie « simple et tranquille » de Gervaise Macquart ? Pourquoi le destin de cette petite blanchisseuse montée de Provence à Paris nous touche-t-il tant aujourd''hui

Editor: David Widger

Original title: Fecondite / Translator: Ernest Alfred Vizetelly

(...) ela ficou curiosa para ver, no fundo, atrás da divisória de carvalho, o grande alambique de cobre avermelhado, que funcionava sob a telha de vidro claro do pequeno pátio; o funileiro, que a tinha seguido, explicou-lhe como aquilo funcionava, indicando com o dedo as diferentes peças do aparelho, mostrando a enorme cucurbita de onde caia um filete limpido de alcool. O alambique, com seus recipientes de forma estranha, suas espirais e tubos sem fim, tinha um aspecto sombrio, nenhum vapor lhe escapava; mal se ouvia um alento interior, um ressonar subterraneo; era como se uma tarefa da noite fosse realizada em pleno dia, por um trabalhador taciturno, vigoroso e mudo. () O alambique, surdamente, sem uma chama, sem uma alegria nos reflexos apagados de seus cobres, prosseguia, deixava correr seu suor de alcool, semelhante a uma fonte lenta e obstinada que ao longo do tempo devia invadir a sala, se espraiar pelos bulevares exteriores, inundar o buraco imenso de Paris.

Encapsulating, with luxurious detail, the phenomenon of consumer societyobsessed with image, fashion, and instant gratificationLadies Delight depicts the growth of capitalism through the workings of a new economic entity, the department store. The novel centers on the story of the young Denise who is seeking work in Paris and Octave Mouret, the aspiring director of the shopping emporium. Set in the heart of the city, Zolas novel evokes the giddy pace of Paris transition into a modern metropolis and the changes in sexual attitudes and class relations taking place at the end of the century.

Relegats de manera injusta a un pla marginal durant dècades, eclipsats per la brillantor de la seva obra cabdal —la nissaga dels "Rougon-Macquart"— no ha estat fins aquests darrers anys que la crític

Écrites pour l’essentiel entre 1875 et 1880, les nouvelles de Zola ont été publiées, incomplètement et dans un ordre aléatoire, en 1882 et en 1885. Elles sont, tout autant que ses romans, révélatrice

Terzo romanzo del famoso ciclo dei Rougon-Macquart, e ambientato nella Francia dellimpero di Napoleone III e racconta la storia di un giovane oppositore del governo, Florent, per questo motivo deportato a Guyana e poi capace di ritornare a Parigi sette anni dopo. La passione per la politica del protagonista e il tragico susseguirsi degli eventi sono elementi cruciali per unopera nella quale Zola utilizza il contesto storico per srotolare la trama: una bellissima istantanea per capire i giochi di potere, gli impulsi sociali, le derivazioni politiche e di potere della capitale francese, e dellintera nazione transalpina, alla meta dellOttocento. Allinterno - come in tutti i volumi Nobel - gli "Indicatori" per consentire al lettore un agevole viaggio dentro il libro.