ЙMile Zola "Book"

I chose to read the book titled, Йmile Zola, by Elliott M. Grant. Twayne's Publishers, Inc. published the book in New York in 1966. The biography has 181 pages with an additional twenty-four pages of "Notes and References." The book is a biography that covers the life of Йmile Zola from his early childhood in Aix-En-Provence to his tragic death in Paris caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. The book covers Zola's encounters with famous painter Paul Cйzanne, well-known sculptor Philippe Solari, and the future editor of Le Petit Journal, Marius Roux. Also, the author looks into other times such as the sudden death of Йmile's father, the pinnacle of his success, and other great works, such as "J'accuse", Germinal, and the twenty-volume piece Les Rougon-Marcquart. Collectively, the chapters of Йmile Zola provide a straightforward look at the life and occurrences of the famous writer.

The book starts out discussing Zola's childhood in Aix-En-Provence. In his early years, Йmile suffered many tragic losses, including the death of his father, who was a successful French engineer, and his grandmother, who helped her daughter, Zola's mother, during times of need. After moving back to Paris, he attended the Lycйe Saint-Louis. While there, he suffered much criticism regarding his accent and found himself two years behind his peers. However, Zola thrived in this adversity, graduating with a majority of the honors. The book then leads into his life as a struggling author. Then the author delves into the pinnacle of Zola's writing career as he began to publish more works. Finally, the book ends with Zola's involvement in the Dreyfus Affair.

Since it is a biography, Grant does not have an argument or thesis. He writes the book from an Archimedean Point, meaning that he looks at the life of Zola from an unbiased point of view and purely states the facts. He uses many different sources that he cites in the bibliography to aid him in providing all of the different aspects of Zola's life. Grant focuses a majority of the book on Zola's

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