Émile Zola, La Débâcle (1892)

Émile Zola did painstaking research into the subjects he included in his novels. While he brought a very strong perspective to the vision of recent history reflected in his works, they do give some insights into the ways that events were actually experienced by individuals at the time. Thus, since The Debacle was written 20 years after the Franco-Prussian war, when memories of the conflict were still fresh, it still has some use as a historical source.

 

Zola's description of the beginning of the siege

Zola's description of the mood of Paris as the siege began

Zola's description of the resistance of many of the French to accepting Prussian peace terms

Zola's description of the reaction to the acceptance of German terms for peace