Zola's Dream
-
Select format
-
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Publication date:
- August 2025
- August 2025
- ISBN:
- 9781009576659
- 9781009576680
- Dimensions:
- (228 x 152 mm)
- Weight & Pages:
- 0.58kg, 304 Pages
- Dimensions:
- Weight & Pages:
- Subjects:
- Literature, Area Studies, European Literature, European Studies
You may already have access via personal or institutional login- Subjects:
- Literature, Area Studies, European Literature, European Studies
Show more authors 
You may already have access via personal or institutional login
Book description
Émile Zola was the nineteenth century's pre-eminent naturalist writer and theoretician, spearheading a cultural movement that was rooted in positivist thought and an ethic of sober observation. As a journalist, Zola drove home his vision of a type of literature that described rather than prescribed, that anatomised rather than embellished—one that worked, in short, against idealism. Yet in the pages of his fiction, a complex picture emerges in which Zola appears drawn to the ideal—to the speculative, the implausible, the visionary—more than he liked to admit. Spanning the period from Zola's epic Germinal to his fateful intervention in the Dreyfus Affair, Zola's Dream is the first book to explore how the 'quarrel' between idealists and naturalists shaped the ambitions of the novel at the end of the nineteenth century, when differences over literary aesthetics invariably spoke of far-reaching cultural and political struggles.
Reviews
It is rare that an author as well studied as Zola-not to mention as central to European modernity-benefits from a new critical reading that totally shifts our perceptions of the work, of its meanings, and of its place in literary history. Claire White has achieved this extraordinary feat in Zola's Dream.
Andrew Counter - Professor of Modern French Literature, University of Oxford
‘By reading Zola's late novels against the grain to expose their suppressed idealism, Claire White brilliantly demonstrates the centrality of literary debates in the history of the Third Republic. A must-read for scholars of literature and history alike.'
Maurice Samuels - Betty Jane Anlyan Professor of French, Yale University
Contents
Contents
References
Metrics
Full text views
Full text views helpTotal number of HTML views: 0
Total number of PDF views: 0 *
Loading metrics...
* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.
Usage data cannot currently be displayed.
Accessibility standard: WCAG 2.2 AAA
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.
Accessibility Information
The PDF of this book complies with version 2.2 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), offering more comprehensive accessibility measures for a broad range of users and attains the highest (AAA) level of WCAG compliance, optimising the user experience by meeting the most extensive accessibility guidelines.
Content Navigation
Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Index navigation
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Reading Order and Textual Equivalents
Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
Short alternative textual descriptions
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
Full alternative textual descriptions
You get more than just short alt text: you have comprehensive text equivalents, transcripts, captions, or audio descriptions for substantial non‐text content, which is especially helpful for complex visuals or multimedia.
Visual Accessibility
Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
Use of high contrast between text and background colour
You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.