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Germinal by Emile Zola is a novel set in the late 19th century France that depicts the struggles of coal miners and their families. The story revolves around Etienne Lantier, a young man who arrives in the mining town of Montsou looking for work. He befriends a group of miners who are dissatisfied with their working conditions and low wages. Etienne becomes a leader of the miners' strike, demanding better pay and safer working conditions. The novel portrays the harsh realities of the miners' lives, including their poverty, hunger, and disease. It also explores themes of class struggle, capitalism, and the power of collective action. The characters are complex and realistic, and the novel is known for its vivid descriptions of the mining industry and the natural world. Germinal is considered one of Zola's masterpieces and a classic of French literature.1924. With an essay by Francis Gribble. Zola, French writer, critic and leader of the naturalist school. Zola's work often portray groups of humans in the grip of circumstances beyond their control, often destined to be destroyed in monumental catastrophes. His masterpiece Germinal was an eloquent protest against the inhuman working conditions common in late Nineteenth-Century European factories and mines. In the story, Etienne Lantier is an out-of-work railway worker who by sheer luck has secured a job in the coal mine called Le Voreux (a name suggesting a voracious beast which consumes workers wholesale). As a newcomer he attempts improvement through worker resistance, including a strike with unforeseen and tragic consequences. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
