Emile Zola: Germinal

Germinal is one of the most striking novels in the French tradition. Widely regarded as Emile Zola's masterpiece, the novel describes the working conditions of French coalminers in the 1860s in harsh and realistic terms – it is visceral, graphic and unrelenting. Its strong socialist principles and vivid accounts of the miners' strikes meant that the novel became a key symbol in the workers’ fight against oppression, with chants of 'Germinal! Germinal!' resonating high above the author's funeral. Reader Leighton Pugh’s radio work includes the plays Murder by the Book and Scenes from Provincial Life for BBC Radio 4 and the voice of Heinrich von Kleist in the BBC Radio 3 documentary The Tragical Adventure of Heinrich von Kleist. For Naxos AudioBooks he has recorded The Diary of Samuel Pepys, unabridged.

Price: $99.98