Émile François Zola (Paris, France, April 2, 1840 – Paris, France, September 29, 1902) was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism. He was a major figure in the political liberalization of France and in the exoneration of the falsely accused and convicted army officer Alfred Dreyfus, which is encapsulated in the renowned newspaper headline J'accuse.

More than half of Zola's novels were part of this set of 20 collectively known as Les Rougon-Macquart. Unlike Balzac, who in the midst of his literary career resynthesized his work into La Comédie Humaine, Zola from the start at the age of 28 had thought of the complete layout of the series. A panoramic account of France's Second Empire, the series traces the "environmental" influences of violence, alcohol and prostitution which became more prevalent during the second wave of the Industrial Revolution. It examines, over five generations and a period of time spanning principally from 1851 to 1871, two branches of a family: the respectable (that is, legitimate) Rougons and the disreputable (illegitimate) Macquarts. In all, the 20 novels contain over 300 major characters, who descend from the two family lines of the Rougons and Macquarts, and who are related.