The dream - mile Zola

Here in its first translation in over a century, The Dream is a poignant exploration of the impossibility of love in the face of social constraints. Abandoned as a young child, Anglique finds a new home with Hubert and Hubertine, who bring her up into a life of purity. Increasingly fascinated by the lives of the saints, she creates a world where ancient legends come to life; she lives in a dream. Such innocence, however, is ill-preparation for the trials that life has to bring, and when her plans to marry are rejected out of hand by those stronger and more powerful than her simple family, she is dealt a blow that shatters not only her dream world but also her life. Novelist and critic Emile Zola is one of the foremost writers of 19th-century France as well as a founder of the Naturalist movement in literature.