Zola, Emile, French writer (1840-1902). Autograph letter signed.

Médan, 12. X. 1888.

8vo. 1½ pp.

 6,500.00

In French: "I have had nothing but trouble over this translating business, and I regret, as do you, that we have found ourselves together in such circumstances. I was wrong, after many miscarriages, to think it possible to do business in America. It's just one more lesson, that s all. You are not personally to blame for all this, and I beg you to accept my most sincere best wishes".

In general, American critics seemed to approach Zola with a great deal of uncertainty. The artistic quality of his work was obvious, and they could not disregard his importance as a leader of Naturalism; but they feared the forcefulness of his vocabulary and the morality of his observations. Because of this fear, American translators tended to abridge, omit passages from, and otherwise sanitize the more realistic or sensual novels, such as L'Assommoir, Germinal and La Terre. La Terre was published in France a few months before Zola wrote the present letter.

Stock Code: BN#44237 Tag: