A letter handwritten and hand-signed by Émile Zola. [London], February 16, 1899. French.
In this letter, written in one of the most sorrowful times of his stay in London, Zola expresses his wish to retire from the company of people and acquaintances: "Dear friend, you did the right thing by refusing to give my address to Mr. Graham. I want to see nobody. Those who turn to you, for whatever reason, send them away. Keep silent. I am less than ever in a mood for disturbances" (the mentioned visitor, presumably, is William Graham who was sent to set a meeting with Zola on behalf of Rachel Sassoon Beer, editor of The Observer newspaper).
Further on, Zola asks to postpone the visit of his close friend Andrew Chatto, the main publisher of his books in England: "As for Chatto and his colleague, I shall be pleased to see them, but currently my wife suffers very much and I myself am in a quite bad state, so we will be very depressing hosts. Let us postpone the visit to a later time and you apologize in my name".
The reasons for his distress are not detailed in the letter. However, in another letter sent by Zola to Jeanne Rozerot on the same day, he expresses the sense that "lies and evil gained a victory", the difficulty to go on with his literary work and the growing distress in his personal life.
The letter is signed "Z", and the recipient is, probably, the English author and journalist Ernest Alfred Vizetelly, who was often in touch with Zola while he stayed in London.
The French author and publicist Émile Zola (1840-1902) was one of the principal supporters of Alfred Dreyfus when the latter was accused, in 1895, of treason and espionage for Germany. In 1897 Zola published a series of essays in Dreyfus's defense, and in 1898 the newspaper "L'Aurore" published his essay "J'Accuse" – an open letter to the French president, in which Zola accused the leaders of the military, the War Ministry and the military tribunal of a miscarriage of justice. The letter's publication aroused controversy in France. Zola was sued for libel, sentenced to a year in prison and forced to flee to England. He stayed in London for about a year, with the support of friends and acquaintances. He lived in hiding under false names (this is why he did not sign this letter with his full name) until he learned that Dreyfus was to be retried. Zola returned to Paris in June 1899.
On the back of the letter appear two drawings in pencil: a figure wearing a judge's cloak and wig, and an illustration of a hall with seats (the court?).
For more information about Zola's letters and about his exile in London, see: The Disappearance of Émile Zola: Love, Literature and the Dreyfus Case, by Michael Rosen. London: Faber & Faber, 2017.
[1] folded leaf (two written pages), 17.5 cm. Good condition. Horizontal folding line. Minor blemishes.