In the preparation of my Introduction I have, of course, relied for information on the recognized

Biographiesof Zola, namely

Notes d'un Ami

, by Paul Alexis (Paris, Charpentier);

Emile Zola, A biographical and CriticalStudy

, by R. H. Sherrard (London, Chatto & Windus, 1893);

Emile Zola, Novelist and Reformer

: An accountof his Life and Work, by Ernest Alfred Vizetelly (London, John Lane, 1904). Reference has
also been made toMr. Arthur Symons'

Studies in Prose and Verse

, and to articles in the

Fortnightly Review

by Mr. AndrewLang, in the

Atlantic Monthly

by Mr. Henry James, and in the

Contemporary Review

by M. Edouard Rod, aswell as to articles in the

Encyclopaedia Britannica

and in the

Dictionnaire Universel des Contemporains

.By kind permission of Messrs. Chatto & Windus it has been possible to include the diagram of
theRougon-Macquart Genealogical Tree, which appears in the Preface to their edition of

Doctor Pascal

, and tomake use of their translations in the preparation of the Dictionary. In compiling the latter, Zola's
own wordshave been adopted so far as possible, though usually they have required such condensation
as to make directquotation difficult. This difficulty was increased by the fact that occasional use was
made of differenttranslations of the same book, and that frequent references to the original were found
necessary.The Synopses of the Plots of the novels are arranged in the order in which the books should
be read, asindicated by their Author in

Le Docteur Pascal

, and confirmed by his biographer, Mr. E. A. Vizetelly.EDINBURGH, May, 1912. J. G. P