Introduction :

Few would contradict the assessment of F.W.J. Hemmings's that Émile Zola was 'the last great French novelist of the nineteenth century' (1) His achievements are the focus of this particular Special Subject. In many ways the study of a Special Subject can be seen as the culmination of your degree in French. Such subjects allow you to focus on a particular aspect of French studies, typically by scrutinising the writing of a key French literary figure. The skills acquired in previous years will allow you to analyse important texts that help us to construct a precise sense of the development of French literary culture, usually at one of its turning points. This particular subject centres on the analysis of six novels by one of the most influential French exponents of the genre. We hope that you will find his writing stimulating precisely because of the ambiguities it embodies. Highly readable and yet unfailingly provocative, extremely popular and yet critically complex, grounded in the realities of late nineteenth-century France and yet capable of moments that are in turns lyrical and evocative, or epic and expansive, Zola's writing leaves readers feeling that they understand France and in particular its social history better than they did before.

The main activity of this subject is the essential reading of novels by Emile Zola. The bibliography should be read gradually throughout the course. It is important to have some experience of actually reading Zola's fiction before engaging on this type of critical contextualisation. Equally, by not leaving the general reading on Zola until the end of your study for this subject, you will become ever more able to allow such critical positions to exert a fruitful influence on your own close reading. After reading this introduction, you should then pursue the close reading of particular novels. You may do this in any order, although you should certainly leave Le Docteur Pascal till last.

Once you have studied this introduction and read the accompanying piece : 'A closer look at Zola and his writing', you should be acquainted with the main threads which will run through the course:

• the nature of naturalist writing.
• the relationship to history of Zola's fiction.
• how Zola attempts to create the illusion of reality.
• the ways in which Zola's writing also exceeds the bounds of such a literary programme.

To support your studies, an Information Services team co-ordinated by Nicholas Lewis, Liaison Librarian for Languages and Classics, has collaborated with the department to create supporting web pages for this course. These include links to the full-text CD-ROM 'Romanciers réalistes et naturalistes' and other relevant external web links. The idea is to bring together the full range of learning resources for this course with a view to making these more accessible. It is hoped that this will spur you on to further study of Zola's works and critical material associated with them. To further enhance this process, we have set up an on-line e-mail discussion page which will provide you with an opportunity to exchange comments and enter into debate about the course on a regular basis as it progresses. I look forward to hearing your views and feedback.

Nicholas White