The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-09-11

straitened circumstances to comparative
afiuenoe. The biographer points out that
had the original contract remained in force
lola would have earned, inclusive OF the ear
lier payments from Laoroixr no more than
forty thousand francs by the first twelve
volumes of the Rougon-Macqusrt series.
At least he would have earned no more dur
ing the first ten years of their circulation.
As 1t turned out-owing to the successive
increase Of his royalty from 40 to so and 90
confines per volume, and to the various
sums aocruing from special issues, illus
trated editions, popular editions, cations
de lure, serial rights and translation rights,
all OF which, under the agreement, would
have belonged to the publisher-he earned
from the twelve books fully twenty times
the amount Of money he had oovenanted
to take for them. Moreover, In addition
to the current receipts from his novels
he was appointed In 1915 the dramatic
critic Of Paris evening paper, La Btem
Public, at q salary OF 5000 francs year.
He received also a regular stipend from
Marseilles newspaper, while the roceeos
Of his monthly contribution to Russian
review sometimes amounted to 800 francs.
VII.
OF all the novels published in the Rougon-
Macquart series, ~LAssommoir' had the
greatest pecuniary success. Soon after
its first appearance in book form. In 1877
fifty thousand copies were sold, ana Two
years later eighty thousand had been
disposed Of. These sales were independent
OF a popular edition" issued In fifty mine
parts" at ten centimes apiece, forty thou
sand copies OF which were disseminated
among Partisan working people In the
course OF 1878 alone. In 1893. when the
Rougon- Macquart series was completed
1877, 900 copies Of Il Assommoir' had been
sold The number had reached lSl 600
in 1908.
"LAssommoir" marks a date In the
literary annals OF France and in Zola's
life. Before the appearance OF this novel,
his books and theories had been treated
with silent contempt The critics were
now compelled to recognize that new
force had arisen, and that they must be
up and doing If they wished to prevent 1t
from gaining the mastery. In the long
struggle that ensuei, all the older men,
and nearly all Of any age who had acquired
a firm position, were against lola, his
adherents being mostly young writer's
whose reputation was, as yet, unmade.
Conspicuous am ong the latter, from the
outset, was Maupassant. Flaubert, more
over, though he disliked the eagerness
with which lola accepted controversy,
fully recognized the ability Of the man.
who claimed to be his disciple In the
end some OF the distinguished writer's
whom he had assailed most savagely paid
homage to his literary powers. Octave
Feuillet, for instance. said that while at
first he had found 1t almost impossible
to read Zola's books, yet, when he had
forced himself to do so. the feeling OF repul-
sion had departed leaving sympathy and
admiration in its place. Alexandra Dumas
the younger. who had many a literary
duel with lola, said OF him, nevertheless,
on one OCCASION My literary standpoint
is not the same as Zola's. On some matters
no agreemsnt between US is possible. But
he is a strong man, and what / particularly
like about him is his damned frankness.
Later, when la became q candidate for
the French Academy, the younger Dumas
was one Of his most consistent supporters.
Jules Caretie also evinced an equally for
giving disposition. Here we may mention
that Alphonse Daudet and Flaubert did
their best In 1873 to get for lola the Cross
Of the Legion of Honor. Whether the
decoration should be bestowed was solemnly
debated we are told. by council OF Min
listers, over which President MacMahon
presided. The result Of the discussion was
q refusal, and it was not until 1888 that
NJ Lockroy procured for the novelist the
red ribbon. lola never succeeded, how
ever. in entering the Academy.
With the publication Of lie Docteur
Pascal" in 1898. the Rougon-Macquart
series came to an end. The colossal per-
Torrance thus finished had included twenty
volumes, written in about five and twenty
years. As these volumes represented nine
thousand pages Of print, each Of three and
thirty lines, we may say that they contained
at least two million five hundred thousand
words. Considering the achievement from
another point OF view, we note that, at the
time OF the appearance Of lie Docteur
Pascal" there had been sold over half a
million copies of the ordinary Carpenter
edition Of the series. If We take into con-
sideration the five novels written before
the Rougon-Macquart series was begun,
four volumes of short stories, and seven
volumes Of essays and other papers, we
may compute that between eight and nine
hundred thousand copies Of Zola' s books had
been sold by 1898. OF course, scores Of thou
sands of readers had also been reached by
serial publications. The biographer does
not attempt to reckon che circulation of
the many translations, but it is certain
that English and American versions have
been sold by tens Of thousands, and many
Of Zola's writings have been translated
likewise into German. Dutch, Hungarian,
Russian. Italian and other languages. II
to his books be added ephemeral, uncollected
newspaper articles, as we'll as several plays,
Zola's output may be estimated at quite
five million words. Manifestly, he had
practised what he preached-the gospel
of work.
1t is in lie Docteur Pascal. the twentieth
and last volume. that the theory Of atavism,
which underlies the Rougon-Macquart
series, Is expounded. You see the jealous
scientist among his documents. searching
evidence explaining the heredity Of one
or another relative, sitting in judgment
on his family. The old ancestress. Adelaide
Fouaue, Is still alive, centenarian, mad,
confined for many years in lunatic asylum.