Emile Zola (1840-1902) is perhaps the most important French writer of the 19th century. Zola dramatically shaped the course of French literature through the development of naturalism, characterized by the unsentimental and realistic portrayal of middle and lower class French life. His twenty novel cycle "Les Rougon-Macquart" is epic in scope, often drawing comparisons to the prolific output of Balzac. Here, in his 1878 novel "Une page d'amour" ("A Love Episode") we encounter the eighth installment of this cycle. "A Love Episode" is Zola at his best. Read as the Rougon-Macquart family tree continues to develop, we witness the dynamism of the human spirit in full bloom. Only Zola captures French life under the Second Empire with such force and vision.