The Disappearance of Émile Zola

Pronounced guilty of libel and sentenced to a year in prison, novelist Emile Zola went on the run.

Zola's crime had been to defend a wrongly convicted man, in what became known as the Dreyfus Affair. Fleeing the French state with just hours to spare he ended up living in the suburbs of south London unable to speak a word of English. Michael Rosen brings to life the sleepy world of late Victorian suburbia, Zola's turbulent politics and his tangled private life. Desperate to write a novel, he was also trying to balance the extremely delicate matter of the two women in his life - one the mother of his children, the other his wife.

The Disappearance of Emile Zola is the incredible true story of a writer's personal bravery in the face of the greatest political scandal of the age.

Michael Rosen MA, PhD, is a poet, broadcaster, former Children's Laureate and a recipient of one of France's top honours: Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His book We're Going on a Bear Hunt has sold over 8,000,000 copies. He has presented Radio 4's Word of Mouth since 1996 and his programme, 'Zola in Norwood', was broadcast on Radio 3 in 2015. He is Professor of Children's Literature at Goldsmiths, University of London.

The incredible story of Emile Zola's escape to London in the aftermath of the scandalous Dreyfus Affair. Pronounced guilty of libel and sentenced to a year in prison, novelist Emile Zola went on the run. Zola's crime had been to defend a wrongly convicted man, in what became known as the Dreyfus Affair. Fleeing the French state with just hours to spare he ended up living in the suburbs of south London unable to speak a word of English. Michael Rosen brings to life the sleepy world of late Victorian suburbia, Zola's turbulent politics and his tangled private life. Desperate to write a novel, he was also trying to balance the extremely delicate matter of the two women in his life - one the mother of his children, the other his wife. The Disappearance of Emile Zola is the incredible true story of a writer's personal bravery in the face of the greatest political scandal of the age.

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