Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Sappho Parisian Manners a Realistic Novel
N ow all the people who figure in Alphonse Daudet's stories are not mere creations of fancy, but have actually lived and he who describes their persons so truthfully and analyses their feelings so delicately, knew them well. In as much as the characters depicted by him are true to life, Daudet is, like M. Emile Zola, a naturaliste. But if there are several points of accord there are many more of contrast between these two great novelists. Zola and Daudet are certainly fast friends they are both of moderate stature and extremely short-sighted they also have the same fondness for the country and rural life; and curiously enough they neither of them ever passed their baccalaureat, that all but elementary examination at which our English bachelors of arts would turn up their noses in contempt. It is true, however, that Daudet was debarred by lack of money from taking the degree, but Zola was plucked twice running, for his ignorance of literature.
With regard to the points of contrast, it may be noted that while Daudet is a genuine child of the South, of unalloyed descent, his rival blends a Frankish with a Latin ancestry.
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