Emile Zola liked nothing better than an opportunity to cause a bit of scandal and over the years that made him a wealthy man, but earned him the enmity of pretty much all of the Establishment. France was still finding it's political feet with the second empire giving way to the third republic, the Germans were across the border heavily armed and the French military under considerable pressure to keep their country safe. It was this last point that led to the infamous "Dreyfus" affair. The High Command essentially framing a young officer (Joseph Schildkraut) for treason and banishing him to the...