One of this author's novels ends when Felicite burns a physician's papers, which held the formula for a serum that would cure all hereditary diseases. One of his title characters captivates the banker Steiner with her performance in the play The Blonde Venus and causes George Hugon to commit suicide by rejecting his marriage proposal. This author of L'Assomoir wrote a novel about (*) Chaval's affair with Catherine Maheu, 
One of this author's novels ends when Felicite burns a physician's papers, which held the formula for a serum that would cure all hereditary diseases. One of his title characters captivates the banker Steiner with her performance in the play The Blonde Venus and causes George Hugon to commit suicide by rejecting his marriage proposal. This author of L'Assomoir wrote a novel about (*) Chaval's affair with Catherine Maheu, which climaxes with a strike in the mining town of Montsou led by Etienne Lantier. The newspaper L'aurore published a tract by this author of Nana branding the French government as anti-Semitic. For 10 points, name this French author of Germinal who defended Albert Dreyfus in J'Accuse!
One of this author's novels ends when Felicite burns a physician's papers, which held the formula for a serum that would cure all hereditary diseases.
Emile {Zola}