During the severe winter of 1860 the river Oise was frozen over and the plains of Lower Picardy were covered with deep snow. On Christmas Day, especially, a heavy squall from the north-east had almost buried the little city of Beaumont. The snow, which began to fall early in the morning, increased towards evening and accumulated during the night; in the upper town, in the Rue des Orfevres, at the end of which, as if enclosed therein, is the northern front of the cathedral transept, this was blown with great force by the ...
Read More
During the severe winter of 1860 the river Oise was frozen over and the plains of Lower Picardy were covered with deep snow. On Christmas Day, especially, a heavy squall from the north-east had almost buried the little city of Beaumont. The snow, which began to fall early in the morning, increased towards evening and accumulated during the night; in the upper town, in the Rue des Orfevres, at the end of which, as if enclosed therein, is the northern front of the cathedral transept, this was blown with great force by the wind against the portal of Saint Agnes, the old Romanesque portal, where traces of Early Gothic could be seen, contrasting its florid ornamentation with the bare simplicity of the transept gable.
Read Less
Another excellent novel by Zola. The first ever book I picked up of his was Therese Raquin, which was by far one of the best books I had read in a long time and it made me want to read all the other Zola's books. I started with The Dream, I found this a very compelling book, with the combination of the saints descriptions and the almost fairy-tale like love story, it almost felt as if I was emersed in a dream-like world. This book definately is one of the best zola novels, which holds all the characteristic Zola features but is original yet discorncerning in a way.