THE EMILE ZOLA SOCIETY
Contact:
Hon Secretary: Chantal S. Morel
67 Cranbrook Road, Chiswick, London, W4 2LJ
Telephone: [+44] (0) 20 8994 8760
Email: chantalouifru@yahoo.co.uk
Website: www.emilezolasocietylondon.org.uk
Report of AGM 2011
President’s Report
First, welcome, everybody, to this year’s AGM! And thanks for turning out on this chilly evening. I hope you are all happy with this new earlier date. I expect that like me, you are looking forward to Patrick’s talk on Paris and Music, so I’ll try not to keep you too long. I’ll first run through some of the events of the year, with apologies to those who have already seen them on the web site.
To start from last year’s AGM: after the meeting, I gave a talk on Poetry and Realism in Zola’s work now in the current Bulletin. Events of the year included a talk in June by Dr Larry Duffy of the University of Kent, on the subject: ‘Flaubert, Zola and Drugs’. This title led some of us to anticipate exciting revelations about the use of cocaine, and a picturesque trawl through opium dens. In fact, more mundanely, but no less interestingly, Dr Duffy dealt with the treatment of pharmacy and pharmacists in the work of the two novelists, uncovering on the way a great deal of illuminating information about the status and role of pharmacy at that time, and casting light on the status and qualifications of Charles Bovary, that almost-doctor, who performed the dreadfully botched operation on Hippolyte’s club foot.
For our regular ‘In the footsteps of Zola’ outing, we had planned a visit to Darwin’s house in July. This, however, had to be postponed because of road works affecting the bus service. We may perhaps be able to do this in the course of next year. DV - and roadworks permitting!
The annual pilgrimage to Médan, normally a highly enjoyable occasion, took place as usual in October. This year, because of the proposed closure of Zola’s house for refurbishment and the creation of the Dreyfus Museum, a leaflet had been distributed throughout the Ile de France, publicising the pilgrimage day. As a result, an unexpectedly vast throng turned up, so vast indeed that we, that is, Pamela Birley, Sati Mackenzie and I, were unable to enter the house. Not so bad for Pamela and me, who had both been in the house on other occasions, but sad for Sati, who hadn’t. There were, however, excellent speeches by Nicolas Demorand, the editor of Libération, who outlined and commented on Zola’s political views, and Christophe Reffait of the University of Picardy, who spoke about Zola’s views on finance and economics, and his theory of the periodicity of crises. All very relevant to the present-day economic scene!
Looking forward to next year, you will find on the website the announcement of our third Saturday Seminar on February 25th. For those who don’t have access to the website, I’ll just give some essential details. The theme is: ‘Seeing Life… with Zola and his contemporaries’. Speakers are Dr A.J. Counter from Cambridge who will talk on ‘Dreyfus, Vérité and Zola’s fin-de-siècle Sexual Politics.’ Cécilia Falgas-Ravry (also from Cambridge) will talk on ‘Passive Criminals, Absent Convicts: Zola’s break with traditional criminal characterisation’. Dr Jann Matlock (University College London) will speak on the subject ‘Seeing Ghosts with Zola: La Curée in the shadow of the Commune.’ And our Vice-President, Keith Howell, will talk on ‘Saints, Sinners, Pigs and Ordure. Emile Zola through the eyes of others’. He will be showing and commenting on illustrations from England and America, various portraits and a selection of cartoons. I should add that the order in which the speakers are listed is not a reliable guide to the order in which they will speak.
Light refreshments at the seminar will cost £5 for everyone. The Seminar itself will be free for our members, £5 for French Institute members (concessions £4) and £10 for the public at large (with concessions at £8).
The Committee has met several times during the year, mainly to discuss plans for the February Seminar which I just outlined, and the proposed University-wide Colloquium for 2013, to which we would be inviting Robert Lethbridge and Henri Mitterand as our star speakers, and for which we would have much-appreciated financial support from Philippe Lane the Attaché culturel. The topic of the Colloquium would be: "Rethinking the Real : Fiction, art and theatre in the time of Zola."
Another special subject at our meetings was of course, the new website, which I hope those of you with access to the Internet are now enjoying. We were very fortunate to be able to enlist the services of Alan Riddle, who has made a splendid job of setting up the web site. Alan has now agreed to undertake the ongoing maintenance of the site. This means he will upload the changes and additions supplied to him by members of the Committee, and thus ensure consistency of style, format and data across the site. A number of amendments, additions and deletions still remain to be made. Alan is also going to add an automatic counter to the site to count the number of visitors. I should like to mention here, so that it is properly recorded, that we owe Alan a great debt of gratitude.
An addition to the Committee was made in the course of the year with the co-option of David King as Publicity Officer. He has already been very helpful in sending out notices of our events to potentially interested parties. Among other subjects discussed by the Committee, it was agreed that a future Saturday Seminar could be organised with another society… such as Trollope, Hardy, Henry James or an Art Society. We also reiterated the view that it was important to keep a balance between academic interest and the wider appeal, and to allow representation of French, while keeping mainly to English in our programmes.
I think that’s about it, so thank you all, and now I’ll hand over to Patrick for the Treasurer’s Report.
Valerie Minogue
Treasurer's Report
10 December 2010 to 2 December 2011 was, in the financial context, a reasonably satisfactory year for the Society. Sales of our publications continued at a modest rate, and there were welcome contributions to our development (‘fighting’) fund. There was a small excess of expenditure over income. I recommend that we maintain our subscription rates for the year 2011-12 at present rates, although it is essential for the Society to recruit more members in order to avoid significant increases in subscriptions in future.
Patrick Pollard, Hon. Treasurer, 2 December 2011
1. Links have been put on the websites of www.richmondfrenchcircle.org.uk, which will lead into the AMOPA website.
2. I am arranging an interview about the Emile Zola Society with the French Radio of London, through an AMOPA colleague Colette Bach, formerly of the Lycée.
3. I have contacted St Mary’s University College re colloque in April 2013: they need precise dates. They will be pleased to have us and the rates will be preferential, as we are a non-profit-making learned society. We can visit their facilities at any time. However, as they run a semester system, bedrooms will not be available but there will be catering. They do have discounts in all the hotels in the area. I am arranging a meeting with the Head of the French Department of the University, which has only recently started up again, with a view to publicising our Society.
David King
Annual Outing
Saturday 7 July 2012
Down House, Luxted Road, Downe, Kent BR6 7JT
The outing this year will be to Down House, the home of Charles Darwin the English naturalist. Although his famous work Origin of the Species caused great controversy on publication, by the end of his life he was universally recognised and the book considered a great achievement.
The house, to which he moved after his marriage to his cousin Emma Wedgwood, is set in a pleasant garden and covers two storeys. Amongst other mementoes, the house is full of memories relating to his voyage in 1831-1836 aboard HMS Beagle, during its world voyage and contains many of his original artefacts and furniture.
There is a lift to the upper floor, a shop, a café where we will be able to have our tea, and parking facilities fifty metres from the house with separate disabled bays. We will pay for our individual entrance tickets on arriving at the house.
However, visitors are recommended to travel by public transport, and we shall leave Victoria Station during late morning (at a time to be announced) for Bromley South Station from where we take the 146 bus to Downe village. The house is a very short distance from the bus stop.
Entrance to the house is: Adult: £9.90 Concession: £8.90 Child: £5.90*
*There might be a slight increase on these prices as these existed in 2011
Anyone wishing to accompany us should complete the form below and return it to
PAMELA BIRLEY, FLAT D, 49 CHRISTCHURCH STREET, LONDON SW3 4AS
(Tel: 020 7351 6377)
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Outing to Down House, 7 July 2012
Name……………………………………………………………………..
Address…………………………………………………………………..
Tel.No…………………………………………………………………….
Guest/s Name (if applicable………………………………………………………
Train times and ticket prices will be advised to you as soon as the new Timetable for the area is published.
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Apologies were received from Gordon & Maureen Brough, Venetia Okell, Kurstine Williams, Nelly Wilson and Members living outside the Greater London Area.
Memberships are still coming through (some may take this opportunity to hand in their payment tonight). Two Members from abroad have renewed their membership with a cheque in Euros.
Our own web site is up and running. Our thanks to Alan Riddle for a very clear web site which will be up-dated on demand.
Regarding the next issue of the Bulletin, our Editor has at least two texts awaiting publication. We’ll add a translation into English of Nicolas Demorand’s and Christophe Refait’s speeches given at Médan on 2nd October 2011). Dr Larry Duffy promised his talk on ‘Flaubert, Zola & Drugs’, and we’ll also have articles from our 2012 Seminar on ‘Seeing Life with Zola & Contemporaries’ (v. Programme).
Due to the absence of the Secretary from UK, the December Meeting did not appear in the Institut Français Programme. However, there was a satisfactory turn-out on the day and it would seem that an early date in December is satisfactory to most Members. Details of our February Seminar have been sent to Camille Tenneson, the new member of staff in charge of programmes at the Instittute.
Agenda 2012
2 February 2012, 2-6pm: Saturday Seminar at the Institut Français, 17 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2DT, an afternoon of talks and discussions on the theme of ‘Seeing Life with Zola & Contemporaries’ (cf President’s Report)
Costs: Light Refreshments: £5 (All participants)
Seminar: Free for Emile Zola Society Members
£5 for French Institute Members (Membership card required)
£10 for General Public (Concessions: £8)
An optional, informal dinner will follow (not included in the above prices) at the Bistrot of the French Institute.
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30 March 2012, 7.30pm: ‘Avec Zola à table’: the Emile Zola Society Dinner, at the Bistrot of the French Institute. Documents will be sent by e-mail in due course.
l5 June 2012, 6pm: ‘Toulouse-Lautrec’: a talk by David Hillier-King, our Publicity Officer.
7 July 2012: An outing to Darwin’s House: For the Form and details of times see the Assistant Secretary’s Report (above).
7 October 2012: Pilgrimage to Médan. Meeting between 10/10.30 a.m. at Gare St Lazare (upstairs, on platform of the departure train).Should there be no Pilgrimage due to major refurbishment works, the Emile Zola Society will hold a meeting in London on Friday 5 October.
7 December 2012, 6pm: AGM, followed by a talk (details to follow)
The current Officers were all re-elected for another year:
President: Professor Valerie Minogue
Vice-President: Keith Howell
Editor: Professor David Baguley
Treasurer: Professor Patrick Pollard
Secretary: Chantal Morel
Assistant-Secretary: Pamela Birley
Publicity Officer: David Hillier-King
The Minutes of the AGM will only be sent by post to Members who do not have access to the Internet.
The Secretary apologizes to the Publicity Officer for failing to mention him in the AGM Agenda.
The 2013 International Colloquium will probably take place in April 2013, venue and details to follow in due course.
Date of next AGM: 7 December 2012, 6pm.