The reputation of Zola has suffered, it is to be feared, in no small
degree from the indiscretions of his friends. In England he was
introduced to the notice of the reading public by Mr. Henry Vizetelly,
who between 1884 and 1889 published a number of translations of his
novels. The last of these was _The Soil_, a translation of _La Terre_,
which aroused such an outcry that a prosecution followed, and Mr.
Vizetelly was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. Without raising
any question as to the propriety of this prosecution, it is difficult to
avoid pointing out that Mr. Vizetelly was singularly ill advised not to
have taken into account the essential differences between English
and French literature, and not have seen that the publication of this
particular book in its entirety was an impossibility under existing
conditions. It is regrettable also that Mr. Vizetelly, who though a
gentleman of the highest character, was no doubt anxious to make the
most possible out of his venture, did not duly appreciate that the
word "Realistic," which was blazoned on the covers of the various books
issued by him, was in the early eighties invariably interpreted
as meaning pornographic.
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