SOURCE: "In Search of Jules Vallès," in The French Review: Journal of the American Association of Teachers of French, Vol. 40, 1967, pp. 636-42.

In the following essay, Edmonds considers the autobiographical aspects of Vallès's Jacques Vingtras trilogy and emphasizes Vallès's contribution to the development of French political literature written to support the working class.

Jules Vallès's colorful life (1832-1885) was marked by a bohemian existence, militant politics including participation in the Commune, imprisonment, and exile. In spite of destitution and failing health, he founded two leading newspapers of the day: La Rue, in 1867, with the cooperation of Zola; and Le Cri du Peuple, in 1871. During the twenty-year span of his literary productivity, he contributed articles to over thirty periodicals and wrote several novels and treatises. Although he received recognition as a journalist contributing to such newspapers as Le Figaro, his greatest literary achievement was Jacques...