File 1 - Files: 206-212

12 cm of textual records

These files consist of letters sent to Zola between the years of 1858 to 1870, which represent Zola youth, his relocation to Paris and the beginning of his writing career. Most of the letters contained in these files are typed transcriptions (both on typewriter and computer printout). The typewriter copies are generally rough drafts of the letters, where the Zola Research Program is editing the letters and attempting to establish dates and facts, whereas the computer printouts represent the clean, final copy of the letter (the two copies are stapled together). The early years in these files are dominated with letters by Paul Cézanne, Octave Lacroix, and Aurélieu Houchard - most of which discuss everyday activities of the correspondents (some poems included), as well as more professional correspondence once Zola begins work at Hachette Publishing in 1862. In 1864 and 1865, the letters express both support and criticism for the early published works by Zola, Contes à Ninon and La Confession de Claude. Édouard Manet, Marius Roux and Antoine Guillemet become regular correspondents from 1866 onwards (the letters by Roux and Manet are generally photocopies of handwritten texts). The first letter from Alexandrine Zola, Émile Zola’s wife, appears on December 14, 1870 (in File #212), which is accompanied by various letters by Zola’s mother Émilie Zola. As well, a highlight of these files is the letters from Zola’s editor, Lacroix and Verboeckhoven, discussing the publishing and printing to Zola’s first major novel, Thérèse Raquin, in 1867.

Added by S Mohtadi 26 October 2018.