File 19 - Al.s. from Émile Zola to Joseph-Antoine Floury

1 letter

22. Al.s. from Émile Zola to Joseph-Antoine Floury (1834-1894), Paris, 6 December 1887, 1 p. Zola sends Floury the finalized manuscript of the play, Germinal, which has been approved by the board of censors. He suggests that they now sit down and go through the play scene by scene, to discuss the sets and the blocking, since Zola has many ideas about these aspects of the play. Asks if Floury has received a copy of the illustrated edition of Germinal. An important letter. Joseph-Antoine Floury was the director of the Châtelet theatre in Paris. Zola’s play, which he wrote in collaboration with the popular dramatist, William Busnach, had been vetoed by the board of censors in 1885 and was not in fact performed until the authors had submitted a revised version of the manuscript, which is the version alluded to in the letter. The play opened at the Châtelet theatre on 21 April 1888. In spite of a number of spectacular stage effects, the play enjoyed only a moderate success, and closed after 17 performances.
    Note that J.B. Sanders published an edition of the play in 1989 (Québec, Le Préambule).
    Published in Correspondance, vol. VI, page 216-217 (letter 176).

Added by S Mohtadi, 28 September 2018