Pierre Froment, a young priest who has lost his faith, travels on the crowded white train of the national pilgrimage with Marie de Guersaint, the paralysed friend of his childhood. Over five days at Lourdes, Zola shows the masses of sick and dying, the hospitals, the processions and the grotto, the story of Bernadette, and the trade that has grown around hope of a miracle.
The first of Zola’s Three Cities trilogy, a vast crowd novel of faith, suffering and doubt. Download the free EPUB.