Émile Zola's Germinal is irresistible. Often considered Zola's masterpiece and one of the most significant novels in the French tradition, the novel - an uncompromisingly harsh story of a coalminers' strike in northern France in the 1860s - has been published and translated in over one hundred countries and has additionally inspired numerous film adaptations and television productions. A beautiful but bone-chilling story, Germinal was a huge commercial success and helped establish Zola's fame an