Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Experimental Novel and Other Essays | - | Emile Zola | Buy |
| 2 | I Accuse! | - | Emile Zola | Buy |
| 3 | The Dreyfus Affair | - | Emile Zola | Buy |
| 4 | Notes from Exile | 2003 | Emile Zola | Buy |
| 5 | Looking at Manet | 2013 | Emile Zola | Buy |
Emile Zola was a prolific essayist and critic in addition to his fiction writing. His non-fiction covers literary theory, art criticism, and political commentary. The Experimental Novel and Other Essays lays out his philosophy of naturalism, arguing that novelists should study human nature with the rigor of scientists.
His political writings, especially those surrounding the Dreyfus Affair, had an enormous impact on French public life. Looking at Manet reflects his lifelong interest in visual art and his friendships with the Impressionist painters. Notes from Exile documents his time in England after fleeing France following the Dreyfus controversy. These works round out the picture of Zola as both a literary figure and a public intellectual.