About the book: 1965 / In the novel "Lourdes" Emile Zola, a realist writer, a fighter for the people's right to freedom and free labor, for the triumph of science over superstition, attacks with all the force of his talent the Catholic Church, which anathematized those who were reconciled “with progress, liberalism and modern civilization.” Lourdes is a small, unremarkable town in the Hautes-Pyrenees department. In 1858, the girl Bernaletta imagined the appearance of the Virgin Mary. Pilgrims began to flock to the city. The clergy very skillfully took advantage of the growing popularity of the town. The idea that people, deceived and weakened by their faith, can easily be exploited, robbed and ruined is central to the novel.