Description

Book Synopsis
The thirteenth novel in Émile Zola’s great Rougon-Macquart sequence, Germinal expresses outrage at the exploitation of the many by the few, but also shows humanity’s capacity for compassion and hope.

Etienne Lantier, an unemployed railway worker, is a clever but uneducated young man with a dangerous temper. Forced to take a back-breaking job at Le Voreux mine when he cannot get other work, he discovers that his fellow miners are ill, hungry, and in debt, unable to feed and clothe their families. When conditions in the mining community deteriorate even further, Lantier finds himself leading a strike that could mean starvation or salvation for all.

  • New translation

  • Includes introduction, suggestions for further reading, filmography, chronology, explanatory notes, and glossary



Trade Review
“[Germinal] made me realize that when books are considered ‘classics,’ most of the time they’re actually very readable and exciting.” —Daniel Radcliffe

Germinal

    Product form

    A Paperback / softback by Roger Pearson, Émile Zola

    £11.68

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    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Mon 9 Nov 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Penguin Random House Group
      Imprint Penguin Classics
      Published 29 January 2004
      ISBN-13 9780140447422
      978-0140447422
      ISBN-10 0140447423
      Also in:
      Fiction Emile Zola Books by Emile Zola

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      The thirteenth novel in Émile Zola’s great Rougon-Macquart sequence, Germinal expresses outrage at the exploitation of the many by the few, but also shows humanity’s capacity for compassion and hope.

      Etienne Lantier, an unemployed railway worker, is a clever but uneducated young man with a dangerous temper. Forced to take a back-breaking job at Le Voreux mine when he cannot get other work, he discovers that his fellow miners are ill, hungry, and in debt, unable to feed and clothe their families. When conditions in the mining community deteriorate even further, Lantier finds himself leading a strike that could mean starvation or salvation for all.

      • New translation

      • Includes introduction, suggestions for further reading, filmography, chronology, explanatory notes, and glossary



      Trade Review
      “[Germinal] made me realize that when books are considered ‘classics,’ most of the time they’re actually very readable and exciting.” —Daniel Radcliffe

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