1. Zola and the art of fiction

‘Zola and the art of fiction’ argues that how Zola wanted to align his work with contemporary scientific discourse, which saw human behaviour as determined by heredity and environment. Zola’s insistence on the ‘scientific’ nature of his work has encouraged people to read his novels on the basis of his theoretical writings (e.g. The Experimental Novel) rather than in terms of the texts themselves. It is still necessary to stress that Zola is above all a narrative artist: a storyteller, a fabulist. It is the lyrical and mythopoeic qualities of his work, and the sheer energy of his writing, that make him one of the great figures in the European novel.