Émile Zola

Born in Paris, Émile Zola's literary output was prodigious, spanning twenty novels in his monumental Rougon-Macquart series, which chronicled the lives of a fictional family under the Second Empire. His unflinching portrayals of social issues, poverty, and human vice made him a controversial figure, but cemented his legacy as a literary giant. Clearly, he preferred dissecting society to attending synagogue.

Zola's personal background shows no discernible Jewish lineage or identity. His father was an Italian engineer, his mother French. He was baptized Catholic and remained largely secular in his public life, focusing his energies on literature and social justice rather than religious observance.

However, Zola's ultimate kvell-worthiness stems not from his novels, but from his moral courage. In 1898, he penned