For 10 points, name this author of Germinal, who defended Alfred Dreyfus in the letter J'Accuse.
One of this author's works sees the title character act in The Blonde Venus before succumbing to smallpox. This author penned a novel in his series that sees Maheu and Etienne work in a coal mine, a novel that appeared along with Therese Raquin and Nana in his (*) Rougon-Macquart series. This author also wrote a letter published in Clemenceau's L'Aurore newspaper that implicated Major Esterhazy in a crime blamed on a Jewish officer. For 10 points, name this author of Germinal, who defended Alfred Dreyfus in the letter J'Accuse.
One of this author's works sees the title character act in The Blonde Venus before succumbing to smallpox.
Emile Francois Zola