Coal mines have become rare, but the miners of Germinal are
immortal. This new edition of the novel, with a translation by
Raymond MacKenzie, is an exquisite tribute to their work, their
misery and their eventual revolt. In his introduction, David
Baguley--one of the most respected authorities on the work of
Zola--brilliantly illuminates the genetic, historical and aesthetic
aspects of the novel. His lucid, sensitive and critical gaze
highlights the real secrets of the work: its underlying
anthropological and social investigation, the dark power of the
tragic imagination and the brightness of symbolic and mythic
intuitions. --Henri Mitterand, Professor Emeritus, Columbia
University