"La Terre", 1887: One of his most grim and outspoken novel on the human condition.
"J'accuse", 1898: Zola published concerning the Dreyfus affair-that of a Jewish French army officer whose trial for treason began a 12 year controversy that deeply marked the political and social history of the period - a fierce denunciation of the French general staff in the newspaper L'Aurore. It took the form of an open letter defending the innocence of Dreyfus.
1898 France: In 1894 Capt. Alfred Dreyfus was degraded and sentenced to Devil's Island for life for allegedly selling military secrets. Firm exonerating evidence was found in 1896, but Army circles suppressed it, denying a new trial, and causing intense protests. Zola denounced the military authorities in an open letter, "J'accuse."
1898 France: After his open letter "J'accuse" Zola was convicted of libeling the Army, fled to England, and was amnestied in a few months. Dreyfus was pardoned in 1899 and exonerated formally in 1906. The case convulsed French political life and society.
1953 Ireland: All works banned.
1954 United States: "Nana" disapproved by the National Organization of Decent Literature.
Source: Banned Books 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D., by Anne Lyon Haight, and Chandler B. Grannis, R.R. Bowker Co, 1978.