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The correspondence continues until Zola’s death in early autumn 1902. Folio volume (328 × 242 mm), bound in red morocco by Riviere & Son, spine richly gilt between raised bands, dark blue endpapers, gilt inner dentelles and edges. 103 pages, with letters, photographs, and documents mounted in the volume; in French. Together 61 pieces including 51 signed letters, one of them signed as Beauchamp, 5 initialled letters, 3 business cards autographed and siged, one unsigned letter and a response to a questionnaire. All the letters relate to the publication of L’Argent , Lourdes , Rome , Dr. Pascal , La Débâcle and his trip to England to the Congress of Journalists in 1893. Also, 39 photographs of views of England taken by Zola during his exile there in 1899. Some letters bear on the back of the annotations of Vizetelly. ¶ Published in Émile Zola, Correspondance, VII – X, Presses de l’Université de Montreal , 1978–1995. Vizetelly’s letters to Zola were also published in: Mon cher Maître, Lettres d’Ernest Vizetelly à Emile Zola, Les Presses de University of Montreal , 2002. Transcript and translation of correspondence available upon request. £50,000 [154344]
England, despite a little mockery, is also important to Zola. He discovered it at the journalists’ conference to which he was invited in 1893. He seemed rather anxious about the reception that the English press could give him: “I would like to know the importance of this congress, and whether it will offer a great interest. You know my situation in London: I am still very much discussed, almost denied, and it seems to me that . . . the words I could say there would erase a lot of the misunderstanding”. Zola’s doubts would finally be unfounded and he returned from London delighted with the reception he received there and with the charm and immensity of the city. At the end of the collection are 39 original photographs, taken by Zola at the time of his visit to London in 1893 or during his exile. Most of them bear indications of the places photographed on the back. Following the publication of J’Accuse and the trial which forced him into exile, Zola chooses London. He discreetly mentions the piece which appeared in l’Aurore , explaining to Vizetelly the delay in the publication of Paris on January 25, 1898: “Tell Mr. Chatto that we will not put” Paris “on sale on February 10. It would be a great fault, in the midst of the current hustle and bustle”. He finally left France in July of the same year. The support of his now “dear colleague and friend” is essential in this difficult period: “My dear colleague and friend, thank you for your good wishes, on the anniversary of my birth. I am very touched, in the sad emotion where I am. You write me good and just things that go straight to my heart. And I thank you, on this day, for the dedication and the discreet attentions that you have not ceased to have for me since the day I set foot in this land of exile”.
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All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
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