The text in question is still in place on plate twenty-three of the galley proofs (28 November 1884), though, and evidences the author's original intent for this scene.Īlthough it may seem strange that such a significant French manuscript resides in a repository of English and American literature, the story of how the Germinal proofs made its way to the Berg Collection is in fact quite heartwarming. The January 28, 1885, issue of Gil Blas was printed with the ellipses. Zola reluctantly agreed, but insisted the offensive text be replaced with sixteen rows of ellipses, forcing Dumont to take responsibility for the censorship. Dumont of Gil Blas objected specifically to a passage involving a gruesome castration at the height of the revolt and implored the author to rescind that section. Perhaps the most interesting annotations, though, are in regards to the text that was removed rather than revised. The long galley is the printer’s tray, and galley proofs usually contain the type for about three pages (its predecessor, the galley and slice, contained but one).” Today, we will be taking a closer look at Zola’s annotated galley proofs for the serial publication of Germinal currently held in the Library’s Berg Collection, and which have recently been made avaible in the Library's Digital Collections.īut first: what are galley proofs and why are they so oversized? John Carter’s ABC for Book Collectorsdefines these broadsides as “early proofs, pulled on long strips before the type has been locked up in the forme. Like many 19th century novels, Germinal was originally published serially a few pages per week were published in Augustin-Alexandre Dumont’s newspaper Gil Blas between Novem– February 25, 1885.

Although controversial for its socialist overtones, Germinal was a popular success that was quickly adapted to the stage, and has since spurred countless reprints, translations, and adaptations.

Germinalwas published in March 1885 as the thirteenth book in Zola’s Rougon-Macquartcycle, a series intended to explore life in France under the rule of Napoleon III. Although he was perhaps most popularly known for his “J’accuse!” letter condemning the unlawful imprisonment of Alfred Dreyfus in 1898, it is Émile Zola’s novel about a coalminers’ strike in Northern France that is widely considered his masterpiece.

Germinal by Émile Zola