Émile Zola was a prominent French novelist and playwright, best known for his role in the literary movement of Naturalism. His works often depicted the struggles of the working class and explored the impact of environment and heredity on human behavior. Zola's most famous series, Les Rougon-Macquart, consists of twenty novels that provide a detailed panorama of French society during the Second Empire. Zola was also a passionate advocate for social justice, famously defending Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer wrongfully convicted of treason. His open letter, J'accuse, played a crucial role in the Dreyfus Affair, highlighting issues of anti-Semitism and injustice in France.