For 10 points, name this author of  Germinal   (zhair-mee-NALL)  
In a novel by this author, a mob castrates the corpse of a shopkeeper who had only given credit to villagers in exchange for women's favors. A novel by this author in which Denise works as a salesgirl in a department store regained popularity under the title  The Ladies Paradise . One of his novels is set in Village 240, where sabotage conducted by the Russian anarchist Souvarine leads to a flood that traps Catherine (*)  Maheu  (kaht-REEN mah-OO)  and the protagonist. This author noted "a guilty man is being passed off as innocent" after a court martial acquitted Major Esterhazy. Étienne Lantier  (ay-tee-EN lont-YAY)  leads a coal miners' strike in a novel by this author, who wrote a letter published in  L'Aurore  denouncing an anti-semitic trial. For 10 points, name this author of  Germinal   (zhair-mee-NALL)  who defended Alfred Dreyfus in "J'accuse."
In a novel by this author, a mob castrates the corpse of a shopkeeper who had only given credit to villagers in exchange for women's favors.
Emile  Zola 