J'Accuse ...! Lettre au Président de la République [I Accuse…! Letter to the President of the Republic], by Émile Zola. In: Issue 87 of the newspaper L'Aurore. Paris, January 13, 1898. French.
Émile Zola's famous essay in defense of Alfred Dreyfus – an open letter to the President of France, in which Zola accuses the leaders of the army, the Ministry of War and the Martial Court of travesty of justice. The letter's publication caused an uproar in France. Zola was sued for libel, sentenced to a year in prison and was forced to flee to England.
Alfred Dreyfus (1859-1935), a Jewish officer in the French army, was convicted of treason, though entirely innocent. The suspicion of falsified evidence, false witness statements and a wrongful conviction ignited an unprecedented public debate in France, later called the "Dreyfus Affair". Émile Zola's open letter, "J'Accuse", is considered the most famous text written in the course of the affair. Its title became synonymous with protest against injustice and governmental corruption.
4 pp, 62.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Folding marks and stains. Light creases. Tears and open tears to margins and along folding marks, affecting text, some reinforced with adhesive tape.