94 - ZOLA (Émile). Autograph letter signed “Émile Zola” to Alphonse Daudet. Médan, September 30, 1879. 2 pp. in-8.

ZOLA (Émile). Autograph letter signed “Émile Zola” to Alphonse Daudet. Médan, September 30, 1879. 2 pp. in-8. “I deeply regret that Laffitte contacted you again without consulting me. Laffitte is a terrible man, a man with strong opinions. I have no doubt you would be happy to speak about me; but I would have preferred that you be left free to choose the time and the newspaper. I therefore beg you to proceed as you see fit. If Counselor W. de Hamm, whom you mentioned to me, contacts me, I’ll be delighted. But you were right to warn me, for I no longer give out information; people are driving me crazy. I haven’t read any of *Les Rois en exil* [*Les Rois en exil*, a novel by Alphonse Daudet, Dentu, 1879], lost as I am deep in my little hole. But I’m told there are some truly beautiful passages. ARE YOU HAPPY TO HAVE REACHED THE END? AS FOR ME, I’M TERRIBLY BEHIND SCHEDULE. This will force me to stay here until the end of January. I’m not complaining too much, because I LOVE THE COUNTRYSIDE IN WINTER. BUT I MISS OUR MEETINGS AND OUR PLEASANT CONVERSATIONS. I do hope, however, to shake your hand on one of my next trips. Our warmest regards to Madame Daudet. Sincerely... » Émile Zola was serializing his novel *Nana* in the newspaper *Le Voltaire*, edited by Jules Laffitte (published from October 1879 to February 1880), and Laffitte had just asked Alphonse Daudet to write an article. Furthermore, the German critic Wilhelm Hamm, who had published “An Evening at Alphonse Daudet’s” in the newspaper *La Jeune France* on May 1, 1879, wished to write a study on Zola and had approached Alphonse Daudet specifically to get in touch with him. This letter is missing from Émile Zola’s complete Correspondence.