Germinal
French novelist, 1840–1902.
Germinal is an 1884 novel by Emile Zola, translated from French.
On 2 of the 10 lists it was eligible for.
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At a glance
- Author
- Emile Zola
- First published
- Serialised 1884–85
- Length
- 592 pages (UK paperback)
- Original language
- Translated from French
- Genre
- Literary fiction, Class and society, Political
- Series
- Book 13 of Les Rougon-Macquart
Is Germinal worth reading?
2 of the 10 best-of lists it could have made include it: 100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph) and Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian).
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| 100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph, 2009) | No. 83 | See the list |
| Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026) | No. 63 | See the list |
Best edition of Germinal
The edition we link to is the Penguin Classics paperback (2004), 592 pages, translated by Roger Pearson.
- Publisher
- Penguin Classics (paperback, 2004)
- Pages
- 592
- Translator
- Roger Pearson
- ISBN
- 9780140447422
How critics and readers rate Germinal
Critics rate it most highly: it earned 21% of the points available on critics' lists, against 15% on readers' and booksellers' lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like Germinal
If you liked Germinal, try Crime and Punishment, War and Peace or Brave New World.
