Germinal

By: ƒmile Zola

Published January 29th 2004 by Penguin Classics (first published March 1885)

Category: Business

Pages: 592 pages

ISBN: 9780140447422

Description:
The thirteenth novel in ƒmile ZolaÕs great Rougon-Macquart sequence, Germinal expresses outrage at the exploitation of the many by the few, but also shows humanityÕs capacity for compassion and hope.

Etienne Lantier, an unemployed railway worker, is a clever but uneducated young man with a dangerous temper. Forced to take a back-breaking job at Le Voreux mine when he cannot get other work, he discovers that his fellow miners are ill, hungry, in debt, and unable to feed and clothe their families. When conditions in the mining community deteriorate even further, Lantier finds himself leading a strike that could mean starvation or salvation for all.

¥New translation
¥ Includes introduction, suggestions for further reading, filmography, chronology, explanatory notes, and glossary