) and two daughters (Marthe and
Sidonie). Pierre Rougon was not particularly prosperous, but his eldest
son, Eugene, went to Paris and became mixed up in the Bonapartist plots
which led to the _Coup d'Etat_ of 1851. He was consequently able to give
his parents early information as to the probable course of events, and
the result of their action was to lay the foundations of the family
fortune.

The scene of the book is the Provencal town of Plassans, and the tragic
events attending the rising of the populace against the _Coup d'Etat_
are told with accuracy and knowledge. There is a charming love idyll
between Silvere Mouret, a son of Ursule Macquart, and a young girl named
Miette, both of whom fall as victims in the rising which followed the
_Coup d'Etat_.

Mr. E. A. Vizetelly, in his introduction to the English translation of
_The Conquest of Plassans_ (London: Chatto & Windus), points out that
almost every incident in _The Fortune of the Rougons_ is based upon
historical fact. "For instance," he says, "Miette had a counterpart
in Madame Ferrier, that being the real name of the young woman who,
carrying the insurgents' blood-red banner, was hailed by them as the
Goddess of Liberty on their dramatic march. And in like way the tragic
death of Silvere, linked to another hapless prisoner, was founded by
M. Zola on an incident that followed the rising, as recorded by an
eye-witness."

Son Excellence Eugene Rougon.

An account of the career of Eugene Rougon, the eldest son of Pierre
Rougon (_La Fortune des Rougon_), who went to Paris from Plassans,
becoming involved in the plots which resulted in the _Coup d'Etat_ of
1851 and the return of a Bonaparte to Imperial power. The future
career of Rougon was assured; his services had been too important to be
overlooked, and he ultimately became Minister of State and practically
Vice-Emperor. He fell for a time under the influence of Clorinde Balbi,
the daughter of an Italian adventuress, but realizing the risk of
compromising himself, he shook himself free, and married a lady whose
position in society tended to make his own still more secure. The novel
gives an excellent account of the political and social life of the
Second Empire, and of the cynical corruption which characterized the
period.

In a preface to the English translation (_His Excellency_. London:
Chatto & Windus), Mr. E. A. Vizetelly states that in his opinion,
"with all due allowance for its somewhat limited