



Produced by Clare Graham & Marc D'Hooghe at Free Literature
(Images generously made available by the Internet Archive.)







THE DOWNFALL

(LA DÉBÂCLE)

_A STORY OF THE HORRORS OF WAR_


BY

ÉMILE ZOLA


TRANSLATED BY ERNEST A. VIZETELLY

WAR CORRESPONDENT 1870-1


_NEW AND REVISED EDITION_


CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY

1893




PREFACE


Before the present translation of M. Zola's novel, 'La Débâcle,'
appeared in 'The Weekly Times and Echo,' in which it was originally
issued, the author was interviewed for that journal by Mr. Robert H.
Sherard, whom he favoured with some interesting particulars concerning
the scope and purport of his narrative. By the courtesy both of Mr.
Sherard and of the proprietor of 'The Weekly Times,' the translator
is here able to republish the remarks made by M. Zola on the occasion
referred to. They will be found to supply an appropriate preface to the
story:--

'"La Débâcle" has given me infinitely more trouble than any of my
previous works. When I began writing it, I had no conception of the
immensity of the task which I had imposed on myself. The labour of
reading up all that has been written on my subject in general,