Emile Zola

Émile Zola was born in Paris on 2 April 1840. Following his first success, the novel *Thérèse Raquin* (1867), he conceived the idea of a great "realistic and scientific" novel in several volumes, the story of a family, the Rougon-Macquarts, set during the Second Empire, a work that would take 22 years to complete. In 1877, his novel *The Tavern* brought him widespread recognition, whilst the publication of *Nana* (1880) caused a scandal. He played a significant role in the Dreyfus affair with his impassioned article "J’accuse".

He died of smoke inhalation on 29 September 1902, in his Paris flat, due to a blocked chimney. Although the police ruled that his death was an accident, given the number of enemies he had made during the Dreyfus affair, rumours of his murder continued to preoccupy public opinion.