A Zola Dictionary the Characters of the Rougon-Macquart Novels of Emile Zola

Patterson, J. GProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.2
Word count
573K words
Chapters
58

Tags

English Originals Literary Appreciation Social ObservationNaturalismPortrait GalleryFamily EpicComplex HumanityPsychological InsightMoral DilemmaAcademic StudyPopular ExplanationFrench Society

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A Zola Dictionary; the Characters of the Rougon-Macquart Novels of Emile Zola;Author: Patterson, J. G,Language: English, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Apr 22, 2006

Editor's review

This is a dictionary of proper names and characters compiled for Zola's Les Rougon-Macquart series, written by J. G. Patterson and published as a public-domain ebook. Its value lies not in plot guidance but in presenting, in alphabetical order, the vast cast of characters spread across the twenty novels, so readers can quickly verify identities, family relationships and appearances while reading any single volume. For those studying Zola's naturalist method, the family structure and recurring characters, it is a practical desk reference. Being a dictionary, entries are brief and explanatory, suited to dipping in and checking rather than reading straight through, alongside the novels.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read one novel first, then look up its character entries to build a sense of relationships
  2. Use the dictionary as a dipping-in tool, checking recurring names as they appear
  3. Organize character notes by family branch, in step with reading progress
  4. Skim the introduction to understand the scope and abbreviations of entries before reading

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58

FAQ

Is this a guide to Zola's novels or a reference work? It is a character dictionary, explaining the identities and relationships of figures in Les Rougon-Macquart entry by entry; it is not a plot guide or critical commentary. It is meant for consultation while reading the novels, not as a substitute for them.
Can I use this dictionary without knowing French? Yes. The dictionary is written in English and explains characters in English, so no French is required; however, names of people and places remain in French, so readers should check them against a Chinese translation or the original.
Do I need to finish all of Zola's novels before using it? No. You can consult it as you read: finish a novel, then look up the entries for its characters. Building up gradually is more effective than reading it straight through.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Patterson, J. G Author

J. G. Patterson is an author about whom very little public information is available; only one work can be confirmed, A Zola Dictionary: The Characters of the Rougon-Macquart Novels of Emile Zola. The book concerns the Rougon-Macquart cycle by the French writer Emile Zola and takes the form of a dictionary, cataloguing its characters as a work of reference and a reading guide. Judged by its subject, Patterson's aim is not original narrative but the systematic arrangement, indexing and explanation of an existing body of characters, helping readers trace relationships and appearances. Such compilation requires a firm command of Zola's twenty novels and reflects a practical orientation toward both researchers and general readers. Because the author's life, nationality and education cannot be verified, any assessment of style and scholarly influence must remain limited to this single work.