EMILE ZOLA

Zola was born in 1840. He is regarded as the chief of the Naturalist school, whose fathers were Balzac and Stendhal. Zola is a robust and gloomy genius ; his realism is sombre, sensual, and morbid ; but he is a very powerful writer, and a splendid, wonderful, constructive artist. His principal works are La Fortune des Rougon, La Curie, Le Ventre de Paris, V Assommoir, La Faute de PAbbi Mouret, Nana, La Joie de Vii^e, Germinal, La Terre, Le Rêve, La Bête Humaine, V Argent, La Débâcle, Lourdes.

Page 24. — 1 . Un ... " outranciers " : one of thèse writer s who go beyond the limits of reality itself. Outrancier is a neologism recently coined to express the exaggeration of many writers of the new schools. It cornes f rom outre, beyond ; outrer, v., to overstrain, to exaggerate.

2. Le . . . peut : a novel tnust be as near reality as possible. Serrer de pris : to hold in close contact.

Page 25. — 1 . élaguer : lay aside, eut off. Elaguer, fig-, to curtail, to eut off ; of trees, to prune.

2. Indiana. It is the naine of one of Georges Sand's best-known novels.