Germinal (Penguin Classics)

Etienne Lantier, an unemployed railway worker, is a clever but uneducated young man with a dangerous temper. Compelled 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 and in debt, 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. The thirteenth novel in Zola's Rougon-Macquart sequence, Germinal expresses outrage at the exploitation of the many by the few, but also shows humanity's capacity for compassion and hope. Roger Pearson's new translation is accompanied by an introduction that examines the social and political background to Zola's masterpiece, in particular the changing relationship between labor and capital. This edition also contains a further reading list and filmography, chronology, notes and glossary.