J'Accuse & The Flood by Émile Zola

We celebrate our Rougon-Macquart marathon finish with another meeting on Zola, ending on a high note after mixed reviews of Doctor Pascal.

J'Accuse, Zola's open letter in response to the Dreyfus affair was published on January 13th, 1898. Addressed to the president of France, Felix Faure, he accused the government of antisemitism and the unlawful jailing of French Army Officer Alfred Dreyfus. Here is a PDF of the letter in English (9 pages):

https://mrdivis.yolasite.com/resources/Zola%27s%20J%27Accuse%21.pdf

Second, we'll read one of Zola's best novellas. The Flood, originally published in 1880, tells the story of Louis Roubien, a prosperous farmer who lives a blissful existence with his siblings, son, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren on a fruitful patch of land near Toulouse. The family is enjoying a typically pleasant evening, sharing a hearty meal and singing songs, when a scream from outside the house shatters their peace.

The Flood is approximately 40 pages based on format and is a one-sitting read. A vintage version on Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/floodemile00zola/page/52/mode/2up

The Flood on Gutenberg:

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/7011/pg7011-images.html

Lastly, we'll allow time for French wine and an open-ended discussion of the Rougon Macquart, hereditary determinism, Zola's influence on Proust, and anything Émile Zola. Feel free to join this meeting if you read any or no novels of the Rougon-Macquart, but please come having read J'Accuse and The Flood.