After a disastrous speculation, Aristide Saccard (

  La Fortune des Rougon

 and

  La Curee

) was forced to sell hismansion in the Parc Monceau and to cast about for means of creating a fresh
fortune. Chance made himacquainted with Hamelin, an engineer whose residence in the East had
suggested to him financial schemeswhich at once attracted the attention of Saccard. With a view to
financing these schemes the Universal Bank was formed, and by force of advertising became
immediately successful. Emboldened by success, Saccardlaunched into wild speculation, involving the
bank, which ultimately became insolvent, and so caused the ruinof thousands of depositors. The scandal
was so serious that Saccard was forced to disappear from France andto take refuge in Belgium.The book
was intended to show the terrible effects of speculation and fraudulent company promotion,
theculpable negligence of directors, and the impotency of the existing laws. It deals with the shady
underwoodsof the financial world.Mr. E. A. Vizetelly, in his preface to the English translation (

  Money

. London: Chatto & Windus), suggeststhat Zola in sketching Saccard, that daring and unscrupulous
financier, "must have bethought himself of Mires, whose name is so closely linked to the history
of Second Empire finance. Mires, however, was a Jew,whereas Saccard was a Jew-hater, and outwardly,
at all events, a zealous Roman Catholic. In this respect hereminds one of Bontoux, of Union
General notoriety, just as Hamelin the engineer reminds one of Feder,Bontoux's associate. Indeed, the
history of M. Zola's Universal Bank is much the history of the UnionGeneral. The latter was solemnly
blessed by the Pope, and in a like way Zola shows us the Universalreceiving the Papal benediction.
Moreover, the second object of the Union General was to undermine thefinancial power of the Jews,
and in the novel we find a similar purpose ascribed to Saccard's Bank. The union