On 13 January 1898, Émile Zola published an open letter to the French president in the newspaper L'Aurore. He accused the army and the government of covering up the wrongful conviction of Captain Alfred Dreyfus for treason and of acquitting the real culprit, Major Esterhazy. He names officers and judges, line by line, with the repeated phrase: I accuse.
The letter is short and astonishing for its directness, and it shaped the Dreyfus Affair and the role of the intellectual in public life. It is worth reading for how an act of writing can be an act of courage.
Outward-looking and clear-cut; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Evidence Seeker. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1998
- Publisher
- Éd. Biotop
- Language
- FR
