and "The Mysteries Marseille and " recounts the love of Philippe Cayol, poor, untitled, republican, and of young Blanche de Cazalis, the niece of De Cazalis, a millionaire, politician and all-powerful in Marseille. Philippe's brother, Marius, devotes himself to protecting the two lovers - and the child Blanche gave birth to before entering a convent - from the anger of De Cazalis. - and "The Mysteries of Marseille and " appeared as a serialized story in and "Le Messager de Provence and " in 1867, while Zola was writing and "Therese Raquin and ". As a work of his youth, it was thus also a commissioned work on which Zola and "cut his teeth. and " In it, he himself saw the and "amount of will and work and " that he had to expend to elevate himself to and "the literary effort of the Rougon-Macquart novels. and " - Indeed, in this popular novel, typical of the genre in its various and unexpected twists and turns, we can already see his style, his palate for real life, his indignation about injustice, and his art of depicting social strata (the wealthy, the clergy, the deviants, the common man) as well as events (the revolution of 1848, the cholera epidemic). With this canvas as a background, he has painted a breathtaking adventure, the thrilling story of an impossible love, that resembles the love of liberty.