Rome

Émile ZolaProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

Word count: 1.4M words
Chapters: 144

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.Rome by Émile ZolaAuthor: Zola, Émile, 1840-1902,Language: French, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Dec 1, 2010

Editor's review

Rome is one installment in Zola's Three Cities series, here in its original French public-domain ebook edition. The novel follows its protagonist's religious and intellectual experiences in Rome, using the city's spaces, ecclesiastical institutions and atmosphere of faith to open a discussion of religious ideals, structures of power and personal spiritual crisis. Zola is known for solid scene-setting and clashes of ideas; the book deals extensively with the workings of the Catholic Church and the Roman cityscape, so readers encounter both the naturalist devotion to detail and the intellectual debates the author puts in his characters' mouths. It is not suited to reading as a Rome travel guide or a light story, but rather to readers interested in Zola's intellectual development, 19th-century French literature and religious questions. It is advisable to understand the book's place within the overall structure of the Three Cities series and to note the shifts in rhythm between passages of ideas and passages of narrative.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with a systematic reading plan for Zola and 19th-century French literature
Researchers concerned with religion, faith and power in literature
Readers able to read the original French who wish to engage with public-domain Zola works
Literary enthusiasts who enjoy narratives interweaving intellectual debate with descriptions of urban space

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking light plot-driven fiction or a Rome travel read
Beginners with limited French reading ability who are unwilling to use supporting materials
General readers expecting fast-paced suspense or strong plot momentum

Reading tips

First learn the overall conception of Zola's Three Cities series, then locate this book's place within it.
While reading, distinguish narrative passages from passages of intellectual debate; take notes on the latter for later review.
Use basic background material on 19th-century French church-state relations to understand the thrust of the book's religious themes.
If reading French is difficult, first read a Chinese translation or a scholarly introduction, then return to selected passages in the original for close 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.

FAQ

Which installment of Zola's Three Cities series is this book?

Rome is the second installment of Zola's Three Cities series, preceded by Lourdes and followed by Paris. The three books follow the same protagonist's intellectual and spiritual journey; reading them in series order is recommended for a better understanding of how the character's ideas change and continue.

Can I read this book without knowing French?

The material shows this is the original French edition. Without a foundation in French, direct reading will present considerable obstacles; you may first use a Chinese translation or scholarly materials to understand the content and background, then choose passages of the original for close reading. It can also serve as parallel reading material rather than an introductory text.

Can the descriptions of Rome in the book serve as travel reference?

The descriptions of Rome serve the characters' intellectual and religious themes and carry Zola's manner of observation and projection of ideas; they are not a practical travel guide. The book can offer a literary imagination of the city, but for travel planning you will still need dedicated guidebooks and maps.

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About the author

Émile Zola Author · French · 1840–1902

Émile Zola (1840–1902) was a French novelist, critic and political activist, one of the most prominent French writers of the late nineteenth century and the founder of the theory of naturalism. Through his twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart he constructed a vast social panorama, with representative works including Germinal, L'Assommoir, Au Bonheur des Dames and La Bête humaine. These works often take workers, peasants and ordinary city people as their protagonists, presenting poverty, labour and desire with meticulous observation and an almost documentary style, calm yet powerful. During the Dreyfus Affair Zola published the famous open letter J'Accuse, intervening in public affairs as an intellectual in the cause of justice. The library holds 93 of his works, including several translations.