ZOLA (Émile). - Lot 100

ZOLA (Émile). The Four Gospels. Fécondité. Paris: Librairie Charpentier et Fasquelle, 1899. — 2 volumes in-8, 225 x 138: (2 ff.), 345 pp., (1 f.), printed cover; (2 ff.), 405 pp., (1 f.), printed cover. Dark brown half-maroquin with corners, ribbed spine, gilt head, untrimmed, cover and spine preserved (contemporary binding). First edition of the first novel in the series that the author published under the general title *The Four Gospels*. The story follows Mathieu Froment and his wife Marianne, through whom Zola celebrates fertility—that of women as well as that of the earth—as a vital and social force. Africa is evoked in the book’s final chapter, which depicts the celebration of Mathieu and Marianne’s diamond wedding anniversary, surrounded by their large family, and the surprise arrival of Dominique, their grandson from Sudan. Through this character, Africa embodies the future and the regeneration of France—an “other France” teeming with life. Benjamin, the son of Mathieu and Marianne, captivated by this dream, decides to leave with Dominique, symbolizing the drive toward the unknown and colonial adventure. Zola thus links human fertility to that of the African soil, making Africa the symbol of an expanding world, where life triumphs and spreads “beyond borders.” One of 250 numbered copies on Holland paper (No. 181). Spined, with minor signs of wear.