29 moments

1. Birth at rue Saint-Joseph

   1840-04-02 · 10 rue Saint-Joseph, Paris, France

   Zola was born in Paris at 10 rue Saint-Joseph. The original building address is represented by the modern street location.

2. Family relocation to Aix-en-Provence

   1843-01-01 · Aix-en-Provence, France

   As a child, Zola moved with his family to Aix-en-Provence after his father obtained the waterworks contract there. The source establishes the family move in 1843 but does not give Zola's arrival day.

3. Move back to Paris

   1858-01-01 · Paris, France

   Zola left Aix-en-Provence and joined his mother in Paris, beginning his difficult early adult years there.

4. Visit to Camille Pissarro's studio

   1863-01-01 · La Varenne-Saint-Hilaire, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France

   Zola and his childhood friend Paul Cézanne visited Camille Pissarro in his studio at La Varenne. Coordinates represent La Varenne-Saint-Hilaire; the studio's precise historic address is not supplied by the source.

5. Marriage to Alexandrine Meley

   1870-05-31 · Mairie du 17e arrondissement, Paris, France

   Zola married Alexandrine Meley shortly before the Franco-Prussian War. Coordinates represent the present mairie site; municipal premises may have changed.

6. Flight to Marseille during the siege crisis

   1870-09-01 · Marseille, France

   Zola and Alexandrine fled Paris for Marseille before the siege of the capital.

7. Government-delegation employment in Bordeaux

   1870-12-01 · Bordeaux, France

   Zola went to Bordeaux, seat of the government delegation, and became secretary to Alexandre Glais-Bizoin.

8. Return to Paris after the war

   1871-03-01 · Paris, France

   Zola and Alexandrine returned to Paris, where he resumed work for La Cloche during the opening of the Paris Commune.

9. Refuge at Bennecourt

   1871-04-01 · Bennecourt, Yvelines, France

   Threatened amid the Commune, Zola and Alexandrine escaped via Saint-Denis and took refuge at Bennecourt. The source places this flight in April 1871 without a precise day.

10. Return to Paris after the Commune

    1871-05-01 · Paris, France

    After the Semaine sanglante and suppression of the Commune, Zola and Alexandrine returned to Paris. The source specifies late May rather than an exact day.

11. Literary gatherings at the Médan villa

    1880-01-01 · Maison Zola, Médan, Yvelines, France

    

    After his success, Zola hosted writers including Guy de Maupassant and Joris-Karl Huysmans at his villa in Médan. The source supports presence after 1880 but does not date a particular dinner.

12. Investigation of the Anzin coalfield

    1884-02-01 · Anzin, Nord, France

    

    Zola undertook an eight-day visit to the Anzin mining district during a major strike, descending into a mine and speaking with miners, managers, and engineers while preparing Germinal. Coordinates represent Anzin; the specific pit is not identified in the source.

13. Holiday at Royan with Jeanne Rozerot

    1888-01-01 · Royan, Charente-Maritime, France

    Jeanne Rozerot accompanied Zola and Alexandrine on their late-summer holiday at Royan, shortly after she entered their service at Médan. The passage occurs in the account of 1888 and specifies only late summer.

14. Residence at rue de Bruxelles

    1889-01-01 · 21 bis rue de Bruxelles, Paris, France

    

    Zola established his final Paris residence at 21 bis rue de Bruxelles, where he lived through the Dreyfus affair and until his death.

15. First documented Lourdes visit

    1891-09-01 · Lourdes, Hautes-Pyrénées, France

    

    Zola attended the great Lourdes pilgrimage, an experience that helped initiate his Three Cities project.

16. Second research stay at Lourdes

    1892-09-01 · Lourdes, Hautes-Pyrénées, France

    

    Zola made a second stay in Lourdes, gathering observations and testimony later used in his novel Lourdes.

17. Stay in Rome at the outbreak of the Dreyfus affair

    1894-01-01 · Rome, Italy

    

    Zola was in Rome when the Dreyfus affair began; his later reporting journeys to Rome informed the novel Rome. The source establishes the year but not the month or a more specific Roman location.

18. Writing J'accuse… at rue de Bruxelles

    1898-01-12 · 21 bis rue de Bruxelles, Paris, France

    

    At his Paris residence, Zola wrote J'accuse…, the open letter that became a defining intervention in the Dreyfus affair. The article appeared in L'Aurore on 13 January 1898; this card dates its writing at the residence.

19. Exile lodging at Oatlands Park Hotel

    1898-07-01 · Oatlands Park Hotel, Weybridge, England, United Kingdom

    

    During the first phase of his English exile, Zola moved from Victoria to Oatlands Park Hotel at Weybridge. The source gives sequence but not the precise arrival date.

20. Initial London lodging at the Grosvenor Hotel

    1898-07-01 · Grosvenor Hotel, Victoria, London, England, United Kingdom

    

    Immediately after arriving in London, Zola stayed at the Grosvenor Hotel near Victoria. The source places this stay after his 19 July arrival but gives no exact check-in date.

21. Summer exile at Penn, Weybridge

    1898-07-01 · Weybridge, Surrey, England, United Kingdom

    

    Zola rented the Weybridge house called Penn and was joined there by his family during the summer. The exact site of the house called Penn is not identified in the source; coordinates represent Weybridge.

22. Departure by train for Calais

    1898-07-18 · Gare de Calais-Ville, Calais, France

    

    Facing renewed proceedings after the J'accuse… trial, Zola left Paris alone by the 9 p.m. train for Calais, beginning his exile. The evidence directly supports travel to Calais but does not specify the precise station.

23. Arrival at Victoria Station

    1898-07-19 · London Victoria Station, London, England, United Kingdom

    

    Zola arrived in London at Victoria Station, starting his brief and unhappy residence in Britain.

24. Move to Summerfield in Addlestone

    1898-08-01 · Addlestone, Surrey, England, United Kingdom

    

    At the end of August, Zola and his family moved to Summerfield in Addlestone during his English exile. Coordinates represent Addlestone; the historic house location is not supplied by the source.

25. Residence at Queen's Hotel, Upper Norwood

    1898-10-01 · Upper Norwood, London, England, United Kingdom

    

    After his family returned to France, Zola lived alone at the Queen's Hotel in Upper Norwood for the final phase of his exile. The Queen's Hotel site is represented by Upper Norwood because the source does not provide a street address.

26. Return to Paris from exile

    1899-06-04 · Paris, France

    

    Following a favorable decision in the Dreyfus case, Zola returned to Paris after eleven months in exile.

27. Photographing the Exposition Universelle

    1900-01-01 · Exposition Universelle grounds, Paris, France

    

    In his later years, Zola extensively photographed the Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris. Coordinates represent the principal Champ-de-Mars/Trocadéro exposition area; the source does not identify particular pavilions.

28. Final summer at Médan

    1902-09-01 · Maison Zola, Médan, Yvelines, France

    

    Zola spent the summer at Médan before returning to Paris shortly before his death. The source supports a summer stay ending before 29 September but does not provide arrival or departure dates.

29. Death at rue de Bruxelles

    1902-09-29 · 21 bis rue de Bruxelles, Paris, France

    

    Zola died in his apartment at 21 bis rue de Bruxelles after carbon-monoxide poisoning from the bedroom chimney. The immediately preceding source text identifies the apartment at 21 bis rue de Bruxelles as the location of the poisoning and death.