Émile Zola, autograph letter signed to his publisher Ziegler, New Novel, Terre Nouvelle

  

I have not been able to write you anything definitive, being uncertain myself and not knowing what to decide. But now, suddenly, matters are pressing, and I put the following question to you. La Terre, my new novel, will probably appear in Gil Blas starting on March 15.

Will you have enough time in six weeks to launch your circular, negotiate with the newspapers, and begin your translation? Within at most fifteen days, you would have the first chapters.

And finally, what sales figure do you expect this time? Reply to me by return mail; prepare your circular and begin the first steps. La Terre will be as long as Germinal and will run for three months in Gil Blas. A fascinating letter about his novel La Terre to his exclusive agent Ernst Ziegler for the publication of his works in German-speaking countries.