A Moment of Truth : The Life of Zola

A MOMENT OF TRUTH is a biographical novel of the life and times of Zola. It is also a cultural fresco of late nineteenth-century France. A MOMENT OF TRUTH tells of Zola's early struggle against poverty and incomprehension; his blood-brother friendship with Paul CZzanne; his backing of the scorned Impressionists; his monumental creation of twenty Rougon-Macquart novels depicting and dissecting the French Second Empire in raw and often lurid prose. Finally, this book details Zola's courageous combat against the whole French establishment to win justice for an obscure Jewish captain, Alfred Dreyfus. Zola's unremitting battle for justice in L'Affaire Dreyfus caused his own death in 1902. Every page of A A MOMENT OF TRUTH can be traced to Zola's letters, dossiers and other documents and authorities. A MOMENT OF TRUTH provides new material on Zola's early life and the mystery of his premature death. In a windowless cell, a man hangs from a pair of handcuffs. He is an American. His torturer will stop at nothing to extract the information he requires. He, too, is an American. A Day and a Night and a Day is a Grand Inquisition for the twenty-first century, in which love, loyalty, reason, and truth are on trial, and morality hangs in the balance. It is the story of Augustus Rose, an unlikely operative in a terrorist network, and his interrogator, Harper, a ruthless ambassador for the darkest forces at work in our times. Beyond the law and without hope of escape or reprieve, Augustus endures an emotional and physical assault that brings his whole life under brutal scrutiny: his race, religion, politics, and past, the people he has loved, and the few he is still desperate to protect. Alone and certain of death, Augustus raises the only shield he has: memory. He remembers his outcast Euro-American mother, Juliet, whose erratic love was refuge from the unforgiving streets of Harlem in the 1950s; he recalls the strange solace of Elise Merkete, the ravaged vigilante who recruited him into the ranks of her underground army; he relives the cool touch of the young Spanish prostitute, Ins, perhaps the last female tenderness he's ever likely to know. Outshining them all is the memory of Selina, a stunning, troubled, and rebellious white New York aristocrat. Their epic, taboo love affair, begun in 1960s Manhattan, would yield a lifetime's worth of passion, heartbreak, and wanderlust, leading Augustus from Harlem to Greenwich Village, from El Salvador to Barcelona, from Morocco to a bleak British island where death seems his only companion. Dramatic, far-reaching, and beautifully written, A Day and a Night and a Day is both a piercing love story and a timely, harrowing evaluation of the shape the Western world is taking. In a windowless cell, a man hangs from a pair of handcuffs.He is an american.His torturer will stop at nothing to extract the information he requires.He, too, is an american.A Day and a Night and a Day is a Grand Inquisition for the twenty-first century, in which love, loyalty, reason, and truth are on trial, and morality hangs in the balance. It is the story of Augustus Rose, an unlikely operative in a terrorist network, and his interrogator, Harper, a ruthless ambassador for the darkest forces at work in our times.Beyond the law and without hope of escape or reprieve, Augustus endures an emotional and physical assault that brings his whole life under brutal scrutiny: his race, religion, politics, and past, the people he has loved, and the few he is still desperate to protect. Alone and certain of death, Augustus raises the only shield he has: memory.He remembers his outcast Euro-American mother, Juliet, whose erratic love was refuge from the unforgiving streets of Harlem in the 1950s; he recalls the strange solace of Elise Merkete, the ravaged vigilante who recruited him into the ranks of her underground army; he relives the cool touch of the young Spanish prostitute, Ines, perhaps the last female tenderness he's ever likely to know.Outshining them all is the memory of Selina, a stunning, troubled, and rebellious white New York aristocrat. Their epic, taboo love affair, begun in 1960s Manhattan, would yield a lifetime's worth of passion, heartbreak, and wanderlust, leading Augustus from Harlem to Greenwich Village, from El Salvador to Barcelona, from Morocco to a bleak British island where death seems his only companion.Dramatic, far-reaching, and beautifully written, A Day and a Night and a Day is both a piercing love story and a timely, harrowing evaluation of the shape the Western world is taking. "England, 1264: as Simon de Montfort and his fellow Barons challenge Henry III’s arrogant conviction of the divine right of kings to rule, the country moves inexorably towards civil war. In the little town of Lewes in Sussex, Judith, daughter of Belaset, seeks revenge for the massacre of her family and other Jews by de Montfort. As a trusted messenger between the King and his loyal followers, she is asked to act as go-between for King Henry and William Foville, Prior of St Pancras in Lewes. Judith seizes the opportunity to strike one last blow against de Montfort before her wedding to Aaron of London. The castle in Lewes overlooks the little town, as it has done since the Conqueror gave the land to William de Warenne. Jervis FitzHugh, squire to William’s descendant John de Warenne, longs for adventure, and for the hand of Madeleine de Tourney. His longings are both fulfilled, but in a most unexpected way. Judith, Aaron, Jervis and Madeleine all become closely intertwined in a way that none of them could have foreseen. Far from a simple journey to France and back, Judith finds herself facing danger and deceit, as de Montfort’s followers do all they can to prevent the message getting through. Help comes from the King’s supporters, in England and in France, and from other more unexpected quarters. When the inevitable happens, and the Battle of Lewes is fought, Judith’s work is done. BUT – could it have really happened? Yes, it could! Most of the characters in the book really existed, and the historical accuracy of the events of the time have been carefully researched and verified by the author. BELESET'S DAUGHTER is a 2002 Eppie Award finalist. For an author bio and photo, reviews and a reading sample, visit bosonbooks.com." A Moment of Truth is a biographical novel of the life and times of Zola. It is also a cultural fresco of late nineteenth-century France. A Moment of Truth tells of Zola's early struggle against poverty and incomprehension; his blood-brother friendship with Paul Cézanne; his backing of the scorned Impressionists; his monumental creation of twenty Rougon-Macquart novels depicting and dissecting the French Second Empire in raw and often lurid prose. Finally, this book details Zola's courageous combat against the whole French establishment to win justice for an obscure Jewish captain, Alfred Dreyf. Imprisoned In A Windowless Cell, A Harlem Activist Is Brutally Interrogated By A Grand Inquisitor Who Suspects Him Of Terrorist Activities, A Torturous Existence During Which He Survives By Immersing Himself In Memories Of The Women He Has Known. Glen Duncan. Title from PDF title page (viewed on Feb. 24, 2009).