This text is the thirteenth in authors cycle of twenty novels about the Rougon-Macquart dynasty. It tells the story of author, from the illegitimate Macquart branch of the family, who arrives in the mining settlement of Montsou, and witnesses at first hand the appalling conditions in which miners live and work. Gradually becoming embroiled in a bitter dispute between the miners and their employers, he eventually leads the strike which is the cent...