Dans la plaine rase sous la nuit sans etoiles d'une obscurite et d'une epaisseur d'encre un homme suivait seul la grande route de Marchiennes a Montsou dix kilometres de pave coupant tout droit a travers les champs de betteraves.
About the Author, Emile Zola
Émile Zola (1840—1902) was the leading figure in the French school of naturalistic fiction. His principal work, Les Rougon-Macquart, is a panorama of mid-nineteenth century French life in a cycle of twenty novels which Zola wrote over a period of twenty-two years.
Roger Pearson is professor of French at the University of Oxford and fellow and tutor in French at The Queen's College, Oxford.
