Thérèse Raquin: 34 (Le Livre de Poche)

Ce qui nous éblouit aujourd'hui dans Thérèse Raquin, c'est le Zola poète et visionnaire, metteur en scène de la réalité et peintre des âmes de la nuit. [...] Quelle force dans la description de ces êtres emmurés en eux-mêmes, vaincus par des puissances obscures qu'ils ne sauraient nommer, rançonnés déjà par la mort qui les guette ! Et quelle géniale invention dramatique tout au long de cette descente aux enfers, haletante, convulsive, sauvage !

?mile Zola was a French writer who is recognized as an exemplar of literary naturalism and for his contributions to the development of theatrical naturalism. Zola s best-known literary works include the twenty-volume Les Rougon-Macquart, an epic work that examined the influences of violence, alcohol and prostitution on French society through the experiences of two families, the Rougons and the Macquarts. Other remarkable works by Zola include Contes ? Ninon, Les Myst?res de Marseille, and Th?r?se Raquin.

In addition to his literary contributions, Zola played a key role in the Dreyfus Affair of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. His newspaper article J Accuse accused the highest levels of the French military and government of obstruction of justice and anti-semitism, for which he was convicted of libel in 1898. After a brief period of exile in England, Zola returned to France where he died in 1902. ?mile Zola is buried in the Panth?on alongside other esteemed literary figures Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas.

Martin is Director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA), London.