The Goncourts, Zola, and his proposed "family history"--Origin of this idea--Degeneration and heredity--Zola's agreement with M. Lacroix--He begins "La Fortune des Rougon"--His intercourse with Meurice, Coppée, etc.--His work on "Le Rappel," "La Tribune," "Le Gaulois"--Sincerity of his democratic views--Goncourt's allegation that he would have sold his pen to the Empire--Some venal French journalists--Zola's marriage and opinion of the married state--His home in the Rue de La Condamine--"Le Siècle" and "La Fortune des Rougon"--"La Curée" begun--Zola takes his ailing wife to Provence--Outbreak of war with Germany--Zola and military service--He conducts a newspaper at Marseilles, becomes Secretary to Glais-Bizoin at Bordeaux, and is offered a Sub-Prefecture--His chances as a state functionary--He reverts to journalism and literature--His work on "La Cloche" and "Le Corsaire"--Publication of "La Fortune des Rougon"--The public prosecutor and "La Curée"--Its issue in book form--Failure of Zola's publisher, Lacroix--The novelist's dire distress--The wool of his mattresses sold to buy bread--He is recommended by Théophile Gautier to M. Charpentier--His "slop" clothes and his new publishing contract--M. Charpentier's generous honesty--How Zola passed from penury to affluence. It has been mentioned already that when the Goncourts' novel, "Germinie Lacerteux," was published in 1865, some little correspondence took place between Zola and the authors, they being really grateful to him for the favourable review of their work which he had contributed to "Le Salut Public," of Lyons. They told him that he alone had understood the book, that his frankness consoled them for much of the literary hypocrisy of the times, and that they admired his courage in daring to confess his likings.[1] Subsequently, wishing to become personally acquainted with Zola, they called on him, but found him absent. In February, 1868, however, still remembering his article on their book, they wrote to him in praise of "Thérèse Raquin," in which they detected the hand of an artist, one who had probed human truth and crime to the core.[2]